Jak II:The Darkened Path
by Nano-Moose
Summary: It's finally here. As Mir recounts the tale of how they ended up meeting Jak, the shadows draw closer..
1. Light and Darkness

(gives a sweeping bow) right, lets get down to business. My name is Gleam* and this is my first fic EVER so PLEASE try to go easy on me. I discover while I was trying to write it that I have the imagination of a drunken fish so I enlisted the help of Kyren, my beloved sister. (turns around and shouts) KYREN! STOP PRACTICING AND GET DOWN HERE!  
  
(a shorter girl wanders onscreen, holding an extremely large sniper rifle)  
  
Kyren: What? Has Vader overloaded the socket again?  
  
Vader: (who is having a Half-Life death match in his newly aquired black stripes with another muse, who is blue, black and grey) Hey! I only did that once!  
  
Kyren: (already bored, shakes head) Any way, my name is Kyren and this is my muse Shalashaska (points to the blue muse)  
  
Shalashaska: The Mighty! You forgot the Mighty part!  
  
Gleam*: (sighs) we are now officially a pair.  
  
Kyren: I have the imagination of three five-year-olds,  
  
Gleam*: and I have the writing style of an Australian K.A. Applegate.  
  
Kyren: so we're writing a fic.  
  
Gleam*: together.  
  
Kyren: not apart.  
  
Gleam*: and no help.  
  
Kyren: that's enough.  
  
Gleam* and Kyren: (together) here we go!  
  
(disclaimer) We do not own any of the characters created by Naughty Dog. We do however, own the mysterious white girl, and the other characters that have not appeared in this prologue thingy. They will though.)  
  
(curtains part to reveal..)  
  
Jak II: Darkened Paths  
  
Chapter 1: Light and Darkness  
  
The Robot was huge. Enormous. It looked even bigger than it had inside the citadel, if that were possible.  
  
'Things always look bigger when they're attacking you,' Jak thought , as he rolled sideways to avoid a huge Yellow Eco blast.  
  
He snatched a cluster of his own Yellow Eco as the projectile blew past, the wind slamming him backwards. As the Robot lifted it's arm for another shot, he leapt to his feet and started launching fireballs, trying to ignore how insignificant they looked against the machine's bronze and silver bulk.  
  
Maia shrieked with fury, the sound echoing around the silo. "Stand still!" she yelled, as she keyed in the command for another Eco blast.  
  
Jak only just managed to evade this one, and the backwash left him teetering on the edge of the silo, scrambling wildly to regain his balance. He almost recovered - then Maia launched another fireball.  
  
This one knocked him over the edge.  
  
He screamed as he fell, knowing he had failed, knowing the world was lost, knowing it was all his fault, he was to blame.  
  
Suddenly, white light flared all around him. His descent slowed, and Daxter wailed as he fell past Jak's pointed ear. He reached out and just managed to grab his friend by the tail.  
  
"How come you get the white stuff?" Daxter muttered, almost making Jak laugh, despite the circumstances. Would the orange weasel ever learn to just shut up?  
  
The light brightened, then seemed to thicken, forming a luminescent cocoon that glowed with all the colours of the rainbow, but was still somehow pure white. What the hell was going on? As the cocoon gently carried him upwards, a strange violet mist began to cover everything. For a moment Jak couldn't breath as it choked him, but then the light shimmered and the darkness retreated. As he watched, it flowed quickly across the landscape, staining everything it touched a sickly blue-grey.  
  
"Darkness falls." said a voice behind him.  
  
He whipped around and savagely wrenched his neck. There was a girl behind him, floating thousands of feet off the ground, a beautiful girl dressed in a long white robe with widely flared sleeves that rippled and shimmered, though there was no wind. Her eyes were huge and pale, though they seemed sad and faraway. Her skin was as white as her robe, which confused Jak for a moment. Was she sick?  
  
Then she spoke again, and suddenly nothing mattered except her words, which were soft and musical, yet somehow incredibly powerful.  
  
"Darkness descends upon the world," she almost sang. "Powers long dormant are awakened, powers which have sought to destroy our world and extinguish the Light. Yet it remains. The Light remains within our world - within you, Jak. Don't forget that. Use the Light - and perhaps the tide will turn. Use the light within you, Jak. There is no more I can say. Farewell."  
  
She vanished in a wisp of pale smoke.  
  
"What are you staring at?" Daxter demanded loudly, his irritating whine snapping Jak out of his daze. He realized he was on the ground below the silo, without any clue as to how he'd got there.  
  
"Didn't you see her?" Jak asked bewilderedly.  
  
"See who?"  
  
"The girl - the white girl..sh-she was..she said.."  
  
Daxter stared at his friend, then tapped his head in a meaningful way. "I think your hairstyle is finally affecting your brain." Jak scowled heavily and raised a hand to his blonde-green hair.  
  
"Anyway, I think we have more important things to worry about." Daxter said.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know, like the fact that OUR ENTIRE WORLD IS NOW COVERED IN OOZE!?!"  
  
It hit Jak then. Really hit him. He had failed. His whole world was probably destroyed, or twisted beyond anything he could recognize.  
  
'Maybe it won't be that bad' his optimistic side said hopefully.  
  
He turned around. Saw what was left of his world.  
  
It was that bad.  
  
Yes, yes, I know, its pretty short, but I'm on a school computer right now and I don't want to push it.  
  
Vader: Not since you got kicked off by the librarian.  
  
Kyren: or introduced that virus to the network.  
  
Shalashaska: or got the computer stuck on a blank screen.  
  
Kyren: or-  
  
(Gleam* pulls out her handguns and shoots the lot of them.)  
  
Gleam*: (sighing) peace at last. Now, press da purdy button and tell me what you thought of it, kay? 


	2. Diya Consequences

(There is a brief moment of fuzz, then Gleam's face appears)  
  
Gleam: Hi! (waves stiffly) I am Gleam! Really! Don't believe me? Here  
is my muse Vader!  
  
Vader : (from off screen) I refuse to participate in this charade.  
  
Gleam: (looking confused) What charade? I am Gleam!  
  
Vader: No you're not.  
  
Gleam: Yes I am.  
  
Vader: No you're not.  
  
Gleam: Yes I - (head explodes in a shower of sparks)  
  
Kyren: (comes on screen and kicks the smoking remains of Gleambot ) spontaneous combustion proof, my arse! Damn Cyberkinetics Corporation - we're not filming are we?  
  
Vader: (happily) Of course we are. (looking suspicious) where's the real Gleam*?  
  
Kyren: She's.uh.sick.  
  
Vader: Uh huh. What did you inject her with this time?  
  
Kyren: Nothing.  
  
Shalashaska: (walking in dragging Gleam* by the ankle) Hey, Kyren! I found her. She was locked in the shed.  
  
Vader: All right, what have you done?  
  
Kyren: She broke. I want a new one.  
  
Vader: She's a discontinued line. What did you do to her?  
  
Kyren: (sighing in frustration) she was a little slow writing the next chapter, so I locked in the study and fed her on a 'flat diet' - food that fits under the door.  
  
Vader: Oh, Kyren, you shouldn't do that to authors; it blows their memory batteries!  
  
Gleam*: Hi Jak! Nice to meet you.happy endings, happy endings.  
  
Kyren: well, how as I supposed to know that? Now she thinks Jak really exists -  
  
(Jak opens the door, walks in and opens his mouth -)  
  
Kyren: - When I've told her time and time again that he doesn't!  
  
(Jak looks highly offended by this remark, strides out and slams the door. Kyren doesn't notice.)  
  
Shalashaska: at least she managed to get Chapter two finished.  
  
Kyren: I suppose. (waves vaguely at the computer) Enjoy! Oh, and review. It may be the only way to restore Gleam*'s shattered mind.  
  
**DISCLAIMER** we wish we owned these characters. Then we could go down to Naughty Dog with a cat-o-nine tails and get them to hurry up and release Renegade. But we don't. Sad. We do, however, own Mir, the White girl (whoever she may be.I'm not tellin' until it becomes relevant. So there.) and Nithana (otherwise known as Desert Village) and the 'others'. I'm not telling you who they are until the next chapter. So, anyone stealing them without permission will end up with Shalashaska shoved down their throat.  
  
(picture dissolves into fuzz, then reforms into-)  
  
Jak II: The Darkened Path.  
  
Chapter 2: Diya Consequences*.  
  
Jak could barely believe this had once been a world of blue skies and green grass. The sky had changed to a strange, opaque black that didn't radiate light. And the landscape - it was worse. The trees and bushes were stunted and twisted and the mountains on the horizon had changed to dark threatening pinnacles that hulked like monsters.  
  
Then a thought struck him. Where was Keira? The last place he had seen her was bidding goodbye to him as he'd entered the Citadel. And the sages, where had they gone?  
  
His head hurt.  
  
What could they do now? Gol and Maia clearly didn't think he'd survived the thousand-foot drop off the edge of the silo, or Lurkers would be leaping on him as he stood there. He played with the idea of going after them, but he couldn't hope to defeat them without any Eco. He wasn't even sure if Eco still existed.  
  
While he was thinking this, Daxter had jumped off his shoulder and was prowling about, inspecting the various Dark Eco twisted plants.  
  
"Gol and Maia sure don't have much in the way of aesthetics, do they?" he said, examining a bush that resembled nothing so much as a warped skeleton.  
  
"What the hell do we do now?"  
  
It was a typical Daxter question, one that the rodent himself would usually answer, but Jak had one very clear goal right now, and he wasn't going to let his loudmouth friend get in the way.  
  
"We have to find Keira." (Author's note: I'm assuming that Younger Jak can in fact talk, but Daxter just never gave him a chance to.)  
  
"You're thinking about joyriding? At a time like this?" The ottsel didn't seem to get it. Jak dealt him a cuff around the head that knocked him face-first into the prickly, ruined grass.  
  
"She.might be.hurt.or something. Look, we just have to find her and make sure she's Ok, all right?"  
  
"What about Log-Nog, could he have survived the Eco tide thing.y?  
  
Jak shrugged. "I hope so. He and the other sages might be able to help somehow." He started walking to the glowing red-hot strip that marked the position of the Lava Tube that led back to the Volcanic Crater.  
  
"We'll have to follow this if we want to get to the other entrance. Keira might still be at the Warp Gate."  
  
"Jak?"  
  
He stopped walking and spun around, looking annoyed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What if she isn't?"  
  
The elf-boy stared furiously at Daxter for a second, then said loudly, "I hope the Zoomer's still there, I don't fancy having to race across molten lava in this weather."  
  
He strode off.  
  
Daxter glared at the plant again in distaste, then had to race to catch up to his friend.  
  
*  
  
"You remember that guy who came to Sandover and lectured everybody on the importance of colours?" Daxter asked.  
  
Jak grunted. He was tired-they, correction, he had been running for hours. "He had all these crazy ideas about what each one meant," the ottsel doggedly continued, trying to get some conversation out of his friend. "Red was angry, orange was intelligence-" he examined his own fur, "Which means I must be the smartest .fuzzy.thing in the world. Yellow was happy, your hair is happy Jak. Blue was trust and purple was. that thing!" his rose at the end, his eyes widened and was pointing just ahead to the left.  
  
"What thing?" Jak didn't have his friend's fuzzy animal night-vision, and it was dark. He squinted ahead, and gradually made out the twisted shape of a trunk, some branches and a few ragged leaves clinging to them. He laughed. Daxter scowled at him. "I'm telling you, I saw something moving! It was big an-and purple and it had some major cutlery."  
  
"Cutlery?"  
  
"Teeth! Big, huge, enormous, gargantuan. I can't think of many more synonyms, but it had nasty teeth."  
  
Jak started to laugh again, then stopped. He had.felt something. Not heard or seen or smelt. just a faint, unsettling presence that made his skin crawl and set his teeth on edge. He quested ahead, trying to use this sense to locate the presence-  
  
Then huge shape slammed into his back and knocked him face-first into the ground.  
  
He rolled aside, leapt to his feet and spun a full 360°, then instantly regretted it as his head protested the twist. He looked wildly around for his attacker, caught a brief glimpse of a glowing orange eye, then was whacked off his feet again by a huge, fur-covered fist. Jak scrambled up, sidestepped a swipe of a handful of claws and took to his heels, knowing that whatever this thing was, he couldn't fight it.  
  
He realized something was missing.  
  
Then he heard Daxter's wail of terror.  
  
The ottsel, it seemed, had been thrown off Jak's shoulder by the monster's first attack and had clambered up a tree, in the hopes of being left unnoticed. The purple thing was now throwing itself against the trunk, trying to dislodge Daxter, who was clinging to the topmost branches, yelling like a maniac.  
  
Jak hesitated for a split second, then raced back, swung himself up the tree, snatched his friend from his perch and slid back down, only just avoiding the creature's snapping jaws.  
  
Then he ran for it, dodging left and right as the monster raked it's talons across his back and neck. He hissed with pain as the claws snagged his arm, opening shallow but bloody gashes along his shoulder. He thought he caught a glimpse of a blue sparkle up ahead and felt a surge of hope - if it was Blue Eco, he might just gain enough speed to outrun his pursuer.  
  
Just as he drew close enough to snatch the crackling ball of energy, something snagged his ankle and sent him sprawling. Whatever had him started dragging him quickly towards a dark hole in the ground. He yelled and kicked wildly, trying to dislodge the thing wrapped around his ankle, but it was too strong and he vanished into the gap. The monster chasing him had seen the boy suddenly stumble, but when it sped up to catch him, it found - nothing. The elf had fallen over and then seemingly disappeared. In the gloom of the tiny cave, a hand was pressed over his mouth and a voice hissed,  
  
"Don't make a sound or we're both dead!"  
  
As the purple monster - Jak finally realized it was a lurker, but bigger and more viciously armed than any he'd ever seen - stepped nearer to the hole, he saw a pair of disgusting, fur covered feet pause next to their hiding place. There was a faint click, then they heard a deep, snarling voice say, "Diya reporting. Saw the boy and the muse-thing and gave pursuit, but they seem to have disappeared." Jak couldn't believe his ears. The Lurker was talking. "No, I don't know where they went, or I wouldn't be calling, would I? They just vanished into thin-look; just send a couple of Trackers down here, they can't have gone far."  
  
The purple feet strode off.  
  
The trio in the hole tensed up, suspecting a trap, then relaxed when the Lurker didn't return.  
  
Jak clambered out of the hole, dusted himself off, then retrieved a trembling Daxter from his pack.  
  
"Hey! Hey! I'm alive and in the company of an charming young lady." The weasel attempted a suave, mature smile, only slightly spoiled by the fact that Jak was holding him by the tail. Jak stopped staring at his friend in disgust just in time to see the girl who had rescued them pull out a small, but very sharp looking knife. She examined him suspiciously, noting the lack of weapons and startled expression.  
  
"Who are you?" she demanded.  
  
"Err.I'm Jak, and this is Daxter." For once in his life Jak managed to introduce himself without Daxter's 'help'. Searching for something reassuring to say, he blurted out, "We come in peace," then cringed. Arrrgh.  
  
"Now you know why I always do the talking," said Daxter, who had wriggled out of his friends grip and was eyeing the knife nervously.  
  
The girl, who had black hair and blue eyes, grinned and said, "And I suppose you want me to take you to my leader?"  
  
Jak had gone red, the colour clashing violently with his yellow-green hair. "Um, I.um."  
  
Daxter sighed theatrically. "What tongue-tied here is trying to say, is that I'm the brains and he's the brawn," which was so wildly off the mark that it jerked Jak out of his embarrassed fog.  
  
"W-what was-?"  
  
"They call themselves Diya lurkers. The Dark Eco made them really dangerous. Well, more dangerous then they were before." Mir replied watching Daxter bemusedly as he chewed on his big toe. Jak looked at her and stood wondering what he was supposed to say.  
  
" Er..Daxter isn't really a-a fuzzy.thing, the dark eco turned him into- whatever he is." The blonde youth glowered at the ottsel, who was trying to look victimized and failing spectacularly. "Whatever it did to the rest of him it didn't affect his vocal cords, unfortunately, so if you want to avoid being driven completely bonkers, you'll have to either ignore him or threaten him with death or violence."  
  
The ottsel grinned cheesily. "He's just jealous. Chicks dig the fur! I'm the handsomest damn fuzzy animal you'll ever hope to see. I'm - "  
  
Whatever else Daxter thought of himself was cut off with a startled 'Erk!' as Jak's foot shot out and Daxter suddenly landed facedown on the grass.  
  
Turning back to the girl, Jak said, "Anyway, one of the things about introductions is that they're supposed to be two-way. Or three- way.whatever, but you kinda have to tell me who you are."  
  
The girl tilted her head. She was pretty, Jak noticed with a pang. Her hair wasn't simply black, as he'd thought, it had navy blue streaks, and she was dressed mainly in cooler colours, such as purple and sapphire, though she wore white pants like his own, but longer.  
  
"My name is Mir. I'm an astronomer.or I used to be." She glanced ruefully at the opaque sky, and Jak felt a clawing guilt as he was reminded of how badly he had fallen short.  
  
"You're alone?"  
  
"No. There are others who escaped the effects of Dark Eco. And many who didn't. I was with some others who were also shielded, and there were some who still seemed to be sane.or close to it. But we don't have anywhere to hide, except maybe the Precursor buildings, they seem to repel that ooze. But my village didn't have any that are still intact."  
  
"Your village?"  
  
"Nithana. Fancy name for a few huts on the edge of a desert, so most people just call it, well, Desert. It's even further to the north than here, beyond those mountains." Jak wondered how she had managed to get this far south, then pushed it out of his mind. Life stories could come later.  
  
"So, where are the others?"  
  
"Not far. I'll take you to them, if you want, on one condition."  
  
Jak sighed. "It had better not be that I have to give you ninety Precursor Orbs, because I'm very, very sick of doing that."  
  
Mir laughed. She had a nice laugh. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just. you know the area around here pretty well, right?  
  
Daxter smirked. "We've been running around like lunatics searching for every Power Cell we can get our hands on for the past fortnight."  
  
"I did the running, you just complained and tried to con people into giving us more than one."  
  
Daxter waved this fact aside. "Well, regardless, Jak here could take you from Sandover to Volcanic Crater in less than a day."  
  
Mir looked pleased. "So, you know how to get into and what's inside all the Precursor buildings and stuff?"  
  
Jak muttered darkly, recalling all too well a certain vicious plant that resided inside the Forbidden Jungle. "Yes."  
  
"Great!" Mir clapped her hands in joy. "So, my condition is, if I take you to meet the others, you have to find us a hiding place - one made of Precursor metal, and defendable, and have more than one way in or out. If you can find us one of those, I'll take you to see them. Agreed?"  
  
Jak thought it over. He really wanted to find Keira. But he didn't really have any idea where she was, and the fight with the Lurker had made him realize that he would probably need help. And besides, he knew just the hiding place. "Deal."  
  
"All right. Oh, and one last thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You like your hair the length it is, don't you?"  
  
Very confused, Jak said, "Yes."  
  
"Well, then duck!"  
  
Jak threw himself to the ground, just as a dagger flew over his head.  
  
(Gleam is laid out on a table, still giggling insanely. Kyren runs on screen holding a bottle of coke.)  
  
Kyren: Straw!  
  
Shalashaska: Check! (hands her a plastic straw.)  
  
Kyren: Coaster!  
  
Shalashaska: Check! (hands her a 'Wrath of Cortex' CD)  
  
Kyren: Dual Shock Controller!  
  
Shalashaska: (snatches it off Vader, who growls and tries to take it back) Check!  
  
Kyren: (placing it on Gleam's stomach) Clear! (presses the X button. Controller vibrates.)  
  
Vader: (trying to grab the controller) Hey! I wasn't done with that!  
  
Kyren: (glaring at him) Do you want Gleam to regain her mind so she can finish this fic?  
  
Vader: (sulkily) Yeah.  
  
Kyren: So, stop playing Splinter Cell and help! (glances at camera) Sorry about the cliffhanger, but we're trying to prevent her brain from being sucked into the abyss. It'll all make sense in the next chapter, OK? (looks back at Gleam*) If we can save her brain. Reviews may be her only hope!  
  
*Yes, we know dire is spelt wrong. It's supposed to be that way, okay? So no complaints about broken spellcheckers. If you look hard enough, there is an explanation for it, (kinda) and all (well, some, anyway) will be revealed in the next chapter. 


	3. Meetings and Greetings

Necralis: Our new arrangement is that I write the start things and Kyren writes the finish things (with our respective muses)  
  
Vader: Remember, I belong to Necralis (she used to be Gleam, for those who haven't figured it out yet) She thought Gleam was stupid. Actually, everyone thought it was stupid.  
  
Necralis: Okay dokey, here is our 3rd chapter. This officially makes it my longest fic ever! (most of them don't get past the second page of my science notebook). Thanks to those EIGHT WHOLE PEOPLE who gave us voos (voo is my shorthand for review)  
  
Vader: (whispering) she's crazy. Just don't say anything to her about pancakes.  
  
Necralis: what was that?  
  
Vader: uh.nothing.nothing at all about pancakes.  
  
Necralis: PANCAKES!!! The memories.so many horrible memories.AAAAARRRGH.  
  
**forgot to mention. we own almost squat. Most of the locations belong to Naughty Dog.and the characters Jak and Daxter.but Versca belongs to Necralis, as does Nithana. Kyren owns almost everyone and everything else.but we BOTH own the Amarathine Shadow. DON'T NICK 'EM!!!! Oh. Amaranthine (note the extra N) is another word for purple, so we spelt it wrong and made it coooooool. ^_^**  
  
Jak II: The Darkened Path  
  
Chapter 3: The Illuminar  
  
Jak rolled aside and came up, ready to fight. He wouldn't be running away this time!  
  
As he looked for the attacker, he caught a brief glimpse of Mir, who was still standing. She was shaking her head in annoyance and shouting something, but it took a while for his rattled brain to make sense of it.  
  
Eventually, he realized she was swearing.  
  
"Versca! I told you not to try and come after me! You could have killed this guy, and he was going to find us a base! Get down here so that I can strangle you with the rat thing! You think I'm f*****g defenseless just because I was an-"  
  
Daxter interjected angrily. "Hey, no one uses me as a weapon! It could ruin my-"  
  
"Ruin your what? Your fur? Your goggles? Face it, skunk boy, you have nothing worth ruining, except maybe your vocal cords, and if you don't shut up, that's exactly what I'm going to have to-"  
  
"May I say something?"  
  
Daxter and Mir both turned around and yelled "What?"  
  
"Who are we yelling at?"  
  
Mir looked baffled for a second, as though she had forgotten all about Jak and the attacker. Then she turned around and yelled into the darkness, "VERSCA! Get down here so this guy can see who tried to kill him!"  
  
A female voice, presumably Versca, shouted back, "But I don't want to be strangled!"  
  
Mir rolled her eyes. "I won't kill you if you come down right now."  
  
The voice came again. "Promise?"  
  
Mir crossed her fingers behind her back. "Promise."  
  
"Okay." A brightly coloured figure sprang out of the purple mist, bounding quickly over and over.  
  
At first, Jak couldn't figure out exactly what the newcomer was like, except she was fairly tall and agile. Then he realised she was actually doing handsprings. Clearly she was a performer of some sort.  
  
"Show-off." Mir muttered. "I don't think of it as showing off. I prefer to think of it as.asserting my abilities." The girl named Versca was dressed in a sea green, wide sleeved shirt that offset her brilliant green eyes and a pair of loose, blue pants with a yellow band around the left cuff. Her hair was silver at the top, but deepened to bright red at the tips.  
  
"Well, anyway, Versca, this is Jak. I rescued him from a Diya."  
  
"Rescued him, you say? Sounds romantic."  
  
Mir scowled. "I'm beginning to regret letting you join us."  
  
Versca grinned evilly, displaying teeth. "Oh, but you can't do without me. I'm the only one who can throw a dagger without cutting my hand open."  
  
"Versca, just shut up. Jak, this is Versca. She used to be a circus performer."  
  
Jak nodded as though he knew what she was talking about, even though he had never been to a circus due to a highly amusing practical joke played by Daxter that involved the plant in Samos' lab, the shark's teeth belonging to the Fisherman and some sticky tape. He had been grounded for a very long time, despite the fact that he'd had nothing to do with it.  
  
"I'll give one piece of information to prevent you from killing her and anyone nearby: her nickname is Vercky."  
  
Versca pulled a very ornate dagger from her sleeve, tossing it up into the air before catching it expertly. "And I assure you; if you ever call me that name, I shall remove your limbs and strangle you with them."  
  
"What, what's that? If someone is strangling someone else, I must be informed in case I can join in."  
  
Someone else had joined the conversation, jogging out of the mist. This guy (he was clearly male) was short and stocky, wearing a blue shirt and faded brown pants. He looked Jak up and down with startlingly blue eyes that were half hidden beneath a dirty bandana and matted russet hair. "Who's this?"  
  
Mir looked incredulous. "Did you all follow me out here?"  
  
"No, no, just me and Vercky. Oh yeah, and Trax."  
  
"Of course. Of course you took Trax with you."  
  
"Well, how else were we supposed to follow you?" He flapped irritably at the violet mist that covered everything. "This stuff makes it impossible to see anything unless it's right in front of your face. Oh, that reminds me." He turned around and whistled piercingly. "Trax! Here, girl!"  
  
Jak half expected a third person to come striding out of the mist, but instead he was almost knocked off his feet by a small shape that proceeded to lick him all over the face. Sputtering, he tried to push what ever it was away, but only ended up with hands covered in slobber.  
  
"Jak, this is Ptek. And the mutt is Trax."  
  
Jak would have responded, but the 'mutt' was trying to steal his backpack, so it was up to Daxter, as usual, to introduce himself. "I'm Daxter. The brains of the outfit. And this is Jak-aagh! Get it off me! Get it off meeeeeeeee!" Trax had lost interest in the backpack and attempted to make off with Daxter instead. She had pulled off quite a spectacular leap (for her size - she was even smaller than Daxter) and her teeth had closed on the ottsel's tail. Daxter screamed bloody murder and toppled off Jak's shoulder, wriggling about like a snake, trying to dislodge her. He managed to get up and kicked Trax square on the wet, snuffling nose. She yelped and let go.  
  
"Trax! Traxxie! Are you all right, girl?" Ptek had rushed over and gently picked up the mutt and was now stroking her tenderly between her over large ears. He glared at Daxter, then at Jak. "You watch your pet, blondy, or I might have to incorporate him into my next project."  
  
Daxter bristled at this insult. "I am not a pet, I am a man-"  
  
"Boy," Jak pointed out.  
  
Daxter glared at him. "A boy who has been turned into a fuzzy thing, not a fuzzy thing who has gained the power of speech!"  
  
Versca turned to Jak, impressed. "That's some great ventriloquism, blondy. Can you do any other voices?"  
  
Daxter began to jump up and down, clearly incensed. "I AM A HUMAN! JAK IS NOT DOING THE TALKING FOR ME, HE CAN'T EVEN TALK FOR HIMSELF!"  
  
"I can so!"  
  
"That's beside the point! The point is, I'm a human! Not a muse, not a weasel, not a rat. A human."  
  
"Oookay.now that Daxter's gotten over his little rant, I want to know something."  
  
Ptek eyed him cynically "And that would be."  
  
Jak pointed at Trax. "What is she?"  
  
"Ummm.we don't know. She just.turned up and decided she liked me best." Ptek placed the little animal back on the ground, where she made a strange yapping noise and promptly went off, tearing around like a firecracker, the sky-blue strip that ran from her nose to her tail standing out amidst her orangey-brown fur.  
  
"Don't go too far, Trax!" Versca yelled. The hound didn't take the slightest bit of notice.  
  
Mir glanced up at the sky, then cursed as she realized she couldn't tell the time, as the sun wasn't visible. "Damn it, we have to get back to the others. Come on, Ptek, Jak, Trax.Vercky."  
  
Versca sighed. "Now I have to think of a suitably painful revenge."  
  
"You can do it on the way," said Ptek. "Let's go."  
*  
  
"So, uh, Jak, where's this hiding place? Is it far? More importantly, is there food there?" said Ptek as they strode north along a tiny stream, Mir in front followed by Ptek and Jak, Versca bringing up the rear.  
  
"It's quite a long way down south, though not as far as my village. I've been all through it, and it's pretty hard to get to."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"For a start, the whole thing's underwater, and I don't think lurkers can swim. As well as that, the place is crammed full of traps."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
Jak waved his hand vaguely. "Dark Eco.pipes, platforms.there's water everywhere, and the Precursors made this weird system where it goes all yellow and anything in the water at the time is fried."  
  
Ptek nodded. "Sounds good, if we can avoid the traps. But you forgot the most important thing."  
  
Jak stared at him for a second before he remembered. "What? Oh, you mean food!"  
  
Daxter sighed, looking depressed. And hungry. "That's something it's sadly lacking in. Unless you're keen to try eating Precursor metal, there is absolutely nothing to eat."  
  
"That's a big problem, then," said Versca from behind them. "I don't know if you've noticed, but there is currently a slump in agriculture."  
  
"Eh?" "All the plants and animals are basically stuffed. And that's putting it lightly."  
  
As if to underline this point, Daxter's stomach growled loudly. Just at that moment, when they were all staring at Daxter (who was staring steadfastly back) Mir stopped moving and yelled "Halt!"  
  
Ptek mock-glowered at her. "I bet you've always wanted to say that."  
  
"This is the spot," she said, ignoring him. ""What's the code again?"  
  
"Eh." Versca clicked her fingers. "Something like. 'upside down' or 'visa versa', wasn't it?"  
  
Jak of course, didn't know what they were talking about. It just looked like a perfectly ordinary mysteriously neat curtain of leaves to him. Daxter had already figured it out and he smirked: leaves weren't much protection against Lurkers.  
  
"Topsy turvy," Ptek was saying, "Weren't you the one who thought it up, Vercky?"  
  
"Shuddup," was the reply. At that moment, the curtain of leaves parted and a grinning face peeked out from under.  
  
"What's the password?"  
  
"Let us in, Vester, or we'll break down the door." Mir said mildly.  
  
"Awww! You never let me have any fun."  
  
Just let us in, Vester," said Mir, and pushed past him, into the cave beyond. Ptek and Jak followed, then Versca, who carefully rearranged the leaves to look like they'd never been moved. "All the comforts of home," said Daxter as he looked around the cave (note sarcasm). In truth it was the most miserable little hole you could possibly imagine, with a floor composed mainly of worms and mud, and unidentifiable gunk dripping down the walls. A few meager supplies had been arranged around the walls, blankets and clothes mainly, and they completely failed to give the cave a warm homely look.  
  
"Honey! I'm home!" bellowed Ptek, causing Mir to stomp heavily on his foot.  
  
"Shut up," said Versca - this seemed to be the most often repeated phrase in this group. Mir shouted something about new arrivals and two more people appeared from nowhere, as well as Vester (when he'd finished brushing mud from his pants).  
  
"Okay, crew, blondey here is Jak and this is Daxter. Jak, this is Lethra," Mir said as she pointed to a short blonde girl with bright blue eyes. She was wearing tight fitting tan coloured pants with a belt that had a ring (like the one that Jak has on his backpack, only smaller) and a blue shirt. The girl smiled shyly and gave him a little wave as she said "Hi,"  
  
"And this is Karok." Mir waved vaguely at a well-built man with brown eyes, who grinned evilly and said, "Picked up a couple of strays, eh, Mirly?" "And you've already seen Vester."  
  
A man with a frame so wiry it looked as if he would blow away in strong winds gave a sweeping bow and said, "At your service,"  
  
"Don't make fun of him, you git," said Ptek, as he looked up from brushing Trax off with a very ragged shirt. "This kid - " Jak scowled - "is going to show us a brand new HQ, hopefully not as bad as this - dare I say it? - hell hole."  
  
"I dunno about hell hole," Vester said seriously. "When you think of hell, you get fire and brimstone and lots of nasty monsters."  
  
"Yeah, well, anyway, are we gonna get going already?"  
  
"We have to get all our stuff together, you impatient cretin," said Mir.  
  
Vester sighed theatrically. "Can't you go five minutes without insulting someone?"  
  
Mir gave him a look of fake horror. "And take away my one true calling in life? Are you insane? Don't answer that," she added, as Vester opened his mouth, probably to prove the insanity theory, "Come on, let's pack up. With luck, we might be able to find some food on the way."  
  
*  
  
Everything moved quickly after that. Within half an hour, Jak was leading the others back along the stream, past trees and bushes and rocks. Each sight was more depressing than the last, with everything looking like it had been doused with acid, then dropped into a bucket of navy blue paint (which was not very far from the truth). Daxter, Versca and Ptek were all testing the boundaries of each other's sanity, trying to drive the others insane before they got to the City.  
  
It would go like this. Versca would start off by saying, "Are we there yet?"  
  
Ptek would then moan, "I'm hungry,"  
  
Daxter would then add something along the lines of, "My feet hurt," even though he was riding on his usual place on Jak's shoulder and had the least to complain about of all of them.  
  
Mir would tell them to shut up. They would, for about five minutes, say nothing, just walk (or ride) along, staring at the horizon. Then Versca would start it off again. And again. And again.  
  
By the time they had crossed the threshold of what remained of Rock Village, Mir's eye was twitching dangerously, Vester was mindlessly and constantly adjusting the collar of his shirt and Jak kept raising his hand, then lowering it again, trying to prevent himself from grabbing the ottsel's ears and giving them a good twist.  
  
They were repeating the cycle for what Mir counted as the forty-seventh time when Jak suddenly came to a halt and swore.  
  
"What's the matter?" Ptek asked, then, without waiting for an answer, pushed him aside, and saw what he was looking at.  
  
He swore too, though for a different reason.  
  
The village was wrecked. Jak didn't know how the Lurkers had done it, but the Blue Sage's hut had been reduced to a pile of rubble and the machine he and Keira had used to levitate a huge boulder was lying in sparking pieces scattered clear across the village. Worse yet, the floating logs that had been used as a bridge were either missing entirely or lying at the bottom of the pool. Dammit, thought Jak. How were they going to get across now? The main plaza was still somehow intact, though several of the houses that had been piled precariously on top had been destroyed.  
  
Ptek swore because he had caught a glimpse of a Lurker Shark. Or what had been a Lurker Shark. The Shark had swelled so that it was now even larger than the Fisherman's boat that it had once taken a bite out of. They clearly couldn't swim out to the City - they would have to find another way to do it.  
  
"We're buggered," said Ptek gloomily. Karok looked at him strangely, then addressed Lethra, who had somehow remained completely silent during the whole trek.  
  
"Any ropes, Lethra?"  
  
The blonde girl shook her head wordlessly.  
  
Daxter squinted towards the opposite shore, then saw something that made him brighten up considerably.  
  
"There's some rope in the plaza! See? There- no, there, you fool."  
  
"How're we going to get to it?" said Karok, then looked at Jak. "Unless blondy here can fly."  
  
Vester grinned at Daxter. "This.thing looks like he might have hidden powers."  
  
Daxter glared at him. "I do. Just not the kind you're thinkin' of." He leered at Mir, earning a whack across the back of his head.  
  
"I have an idea," said Versca. "We could toss weasely boy here across, and he could retrieve the rope for us."  
  
"Brilliant except for one slight flaw; Daxter can't throw to save his life." Jak knew, having tried to goad Daxter into playing catch with a couple of his uncle's ink bottles.his shirt hadn't always been blue. "I could swim across."  
  
"Listen, Jak, you've had experience with these shark things, right? You dive in there, you'll have to be filtered out." Jak stared at Ptek. His previous attitude had been one of indifference, as if he didn't care what happened to anyone. Now he actually sounded concerned. Maybe it was the Dark Eco.  
  
Mir had been silent through this whole exchange, then her eyes went wide and she grinned and snapped her fingers. "Lethra, hand me your belt. Your pants won't fall down, you idiot. Jak, I'll need your backpack. I swear I'll put it back together when I'm done. The rest of you, get out the spare clothes and blankets. I think I've got an idea."  
  
*  
  
"Think this'll work?" Versca said to Mir, as she tied the last knot.  
  
"You'd better hope so, or you're toast. Or maybe fishsticks." Mir grinned wickedly. Versca glared at her.  
  
"I hate you," she turned to Ptek. "Why am I helping you losers out again?"  
  
Ptek rolled his eyes, as though he'd recited this many times before. "Because we saved your life, and we also need you and if you nick off, me 'n Trax will hunt you down and destroy you."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Karok tested the knot, making sure it would secure, before handing it to Mir. "There ya go, Mirly. I reckon it'll be able to hold one of us at a time, no more."  
  
Versca stared dubiously at the rope that had been constructed out of their spare blankets and clothes knotted tightly together. Jak and Lethra's rings had been tied at either end to lend weight so that it could be thrown. The plan was that Daxter would be thrown across (the weasel had protested viciously, but a little persuasion, a little blackmail, and a little violence had changed his mind) while the other end of the rope was kept on the cliff. Daxter would climb up and tie the rope onto a convenient part of the plaza and, one by one, they would swing across and throw it back.  
  
"I would just like to say, that if I die, it was entirely your fault and I'll haunt you for the rest of my afterlife," Daxter said to Jak as Vester picked him up and made ready to throw him. Jak smirked.  
  
"Don't wriggle," Vester advised "Or I might drop you to the fishies and then where would we be?"  
  
Daxter glared at him. "I don't know you very well and I don't trust you and I don't know if your aiming's up to scratch. I just want to say - heeeeeeeeelp!"  
  
Vester, tired of the ottsel's whining, had heaved him towards the plaza. He flew in a not-very-graceful arc, before landing with a painful sounding 'whumph!' right on the spot he'd been aiming for. Muttering swearwords, he picked himself up and clambered up the outside of the plaza. Spying a convenient looking hook, he tied the rope around it, trying to recall everything Jak's uncle had told him about knots. When he was fairly sure it was secure, he turned around and gave the group on a cliff a thumbs-up.  
  
"Me first!" Ptek said eagerly, and without waiting for the others reply, he swung straight out over the purple-looking water.  
  
Belatedly, he realized the rope might not be entirely secure.  
  
"I hope it is. I really hope it is.'  
  
Kyren: There, Chapter 3, finally. Shalashaska: Necralis is a bit slow at writing. Kyren: A bit? Yeah, and like Necralis said me and her have decided that when we write the updates I write the end bit and she writes the beginning cause these things can get really long when all four of us ( Me, Necralis and our muses) write them. Shalashaska: VOO! Kyren: Yes, voo. If you do then.er.expect a.giant cookie! Um. actually just expect a lot of thankyou's. I don't care what your review says, just VOO! (no flames unless you think its really constructive)  
  
((this fic was written after listening to "I think my dad's gone crazy" by Eminem. No, really! We were also hearing the music from Peregrine's castle in Medievil. That's a game by the way.it's really good, if a little (alright, very) dated.)) 


	4. The Lost City

Necralis: hey ho, everyone! Ready for chapter number 4? Wheee!  
  
(readers exchange mystified looks: Necralis is bouncing on her chair, grinning, practically giggling.)  
  
Vader: she's happy because Jak II was released on Tuesday, you should have heard her screeching. (winces) she saw a copy of it in the Electronics Boutique on Saturday as well. (we're Australian, by the way. We ALWAYS get stuff last, it sucks. _)  
  
Necralis: (happily reciting what was on the back of the box) Lost in a mysterious city unable to find the way home.. locked in a cold, dark cell for two years..his body warped by cruel Dark Eco experiments..  
  
Vader: (throws a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at her, it hits her in the head and knocks her unconscious) SHUT UP! (sighs) her and Kyren are gonna try and buy it next Saturday. (rubs his temples) I better find the Panadol..  
  
**DISCLAIMER** oh, do we even need to say it anymore? Necralis owns Versca, Naughty Dog own Jak (sigh..), Daxter, Gol, Maia.. and well, the whole damn J&D world, really. and Kyren owns most of the other original characters. On with the fic! Oh, yeah. VOO!! AT ONCE!! Well, read the fic first.. oh, do what ever the hell you want, so long as you review and stop laughing at my incoherent babbling!  
  
Chapter 4: The Lost City (ah HA! Fooled you, didn't I Shark? I was right and you were wrong, I'm gonna sing the I-was-right song.. AAH! NOOOO.. (falls into Sharks pool) please, don't eat me, I need to write the fic.. please.. no! (is reduced to sobbing pathetically. Now for fic.)  
  
"WAAAAAAAAGH!"  
  
Ptek yelled as he swung across the purple, sluggish looking water, letting go of the makeshift rope and just missing cracking his skull on one of the hanging lamps. He flew through the air, straight through a stack of crates that had still been standing and landed with a CRASH among the tables and chairs on the other side. He got painfully to his feet, retrieved the end of the rope from behind a pile of splintered wood that had (in Jak's memory) been barrels filled with Green Eco pieces and glared at Vester because he was doubled over with laughter at Ptek's slightly undignified landing.  
  
"I hope you know that I am going to have to kill you all for witnessing that."  
  
Vester grinned crookedly at Ptek. "Oh, don't bother. You've humiliated yourself so many times in sight of other people that it doesn't matter any more." Versca looked pityingly from Vester to Ptek, then gently extricated Trax from the hole the mutt had dug in the grass, apparently searching for bugs. "You guys are so immature. If I didn't know better, I'd say that the oil fumes had affected both your brains. Toss me the rope, Ptek,"  
  
Ptek obliged, accidentally on purpose whacking Versca in the head with the metal ring on the end of it, causing her to swear and scowl heavily. Muttering mutinously, she made sure Trax was tucked securely under her arm and prevented from wriggling and swung out over the water, holding onto the rope with her free hand. She flew across, let go at just the right time and did a graceful somersault in mid-air, ignoring Trax's panicked howling. She landed cat-like in a crouch and grinned cheesliy at Ptek. He scowled ("I hate the circus,") and threw the rope back across the gap.  
  
Karok went next, wincing at the way the rope creaked in protest at having to support his weight. Vester followed, plowing straight into Ptek and knocking him sprawling. Lethra had to be coaxed into swinging across (Apparently, Mir informed Jak, she was morbidly afraid of heights.) Finally, only Jak and Mir were left standing on the ledge.  
  
Mir grinned and bowed. "After you," she said.  
  
But Jak wasn't listening. He was just standing there, not looking at her, staring suspiciously at the purple clouds. It was kind of funny - his long, elfin ears looked pricked up, like Trax's when she was hunting mice. He had thought he heard something.. wait..not heard.. sensed..like - like - the first time he had seen the Eco enhanced Lurker.  
  
His eyes widened. Oh, he thought. Oh, shit..  
  
"What's the problem?" Mir enquired.  
  
It didn't take long for her to find out.  
  
Three Diya (cool word, eh? It's the word for really Eco messed up Lurkers. I'll be quiet now) Lurkers leapt from the ledge above them and started towards them, roaring ferociously. Jak yelled and tried to spin-kick one, achieving nothing but what felt like a broken foot. In the time he wasted hopping up and down and saying things Samos would have hit over the head with his staff for saying, the ones he had not gone for went for the rope, trying to cut off their escape route. The others in the plaza were shouting and screaming incoherently, unable to do anything from their position.  
  
"Keep them busy, Jak!" Mir shouted. Jak chanced a glance at her - she was fumbling with what looked like a piece of string tied to a stick. He barely had time to think 'What?' before the Lurker he had tried to spin-kick knocked him off his feet for the umpteenth time. He scrambled up, whisked around and, unable to think of any other alternative, leapt onto the Lurker's neck. It roared and thrashed wildly, trying to rip him off while Jak hung on for dear life. Its fellows abandoned the rope and went to help their friend - Jak was yanked off and thrown against the cliff-face and a sickening crack only he could hear went through his ribs. He slid down it looking very dazed.  
  
It was all the time Mir needed. She whipped an arrow out of the quiver on her back - he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before - and, with expert aim, shot three arrows, one each into the oncoming Lurker's eyes.  
  
As they roared in pain (they seem to do a lot of roaring, don't they?) Mir quickly helped Jak up and dragged him over to the rope. With a nanosecond of hesitation, she grabbed hold of Jak's waist and swung out over the water. Mir gritted her teeth - Jak was much heavier than she was - and the rope groaned under their combined weight, stretching and stretching..  
  
It snapped.  
  
The shock of the fall jerked Jak out of his daze, and he screamed as the surface of the water rushed up at them, imagining he could see the yellow eyes of the Lurker Sharks below..  
  
And then they were colliding with the pavement, knocking Karok aside, landing with bruising force as the momentum from their swing pushed them onto sweet, dry, safe land, while the Lurkers screeched and hooted with fury on the ledge above them.  
  
"Well, that was fun. Let's never, ever do that again." Mir said. (sorry.. eh, Animorph quote.) "Are you alright, Jak?"  
  
He didn't answer, clutching his chest and groaning with agony.  
  
"Oh. You're not all right. Here, Lethra, do something useful for once, you do have some Eco left, right?"  
  
Lethra nodded wordlessly and knelt at Jak's side, fumbling with something in her pouch. He stared blearily up at her, her bright blue eyes staring into his own as she tipped him gently onto his side and poked the area he was nursing.  
  
"Broken rib," she said, so softly it was drowned out by Jak's cry of pain. Without further ado she pulled out a tiny crystal vial of something that shimmered with green light. Lethra broke the vial in her fist and cupped the green stuff in her hand, then let it sink into the skin around the break. Jak felt it heal instantly, with the soothing coolness that he always felt when he picked up a cluster of Green Eco.  
  
"Here you go, Jak," said Mir, handing him his backpack - she had reattached the ring after staring with utter amazement at the ridiculous amount of Power Cells in it.  
  
"Thanks." He swung it over his shoulder. "Hey - where's Daxter?"  
  
"Who cares?" said Versca, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I do," said Jak, looking slightly offended - Daxter was his best (and only) friend, and very loyal, if a little annoying. "I know you think he's an idiot, but I was kind of the one who actually turned him into the - the- whatever he is. I was trying to find the Dark Sage so I could turn him back - unfortunately, the Sage was.. well-"  
  
"An utter nutter," interjected Daxter, popping from nowhere. "He was the one who actually made this purple goop cover everything, after Jak here-"  
  
Jak hurriedly clapped his hand over the ottsel's mouth to prevent his loudmouth friend from telling every body whose fault it was that they were being chased by monsters. Daxter made a sort of squeaky noise in protest until Jak stomped on his toe, almost crushing his foot.  
  
"Any way.." he said, turning back to the group, who were all looking at him strangely, "We need to hurry up and get to the city, I seriously doubt that those were the only Lurkers following us," he looked over at the coral reef that led out to the Not-very-lost-anymore Precursor City, which was gleaming through the purple mist, bronze and safe-looking. "Um.. can everyone swim?"  
  
Most of them nodded, still staring, except for Lethra, who was looking determinedly at the floor and, to Jak's surprise, Versca. In response to his enquiring look, she snapped, "I grew up in a circus, remember? The largest body of water I've ever seen up 'til now is this place." To Jak, who had lived most of his life next to the ocean and had learned to swim practically before he could walk, this was unbelievable. "Take a picture, it'll last longer," she snarled, "It's not my fault, and if anyone here starts mocking me for it I'll - I'll -" she faltered, even her almost encyclopedic list of revenges failing her.  
  
"It's okay, Vercky," said Ptek, looking as though all the Dark Eco in the world had suddenly and mysteriously turned into chocolate. "I promise I won't tease you if you promise not to threaten my life again."  
  
Versca's glare was all the answer he needed.  
  
"Hey, hey, settle down," said Karok, before it could erupt into violence. "I think we got enough people trying to kill us without doing it ourselves. And besides-" he pointed at the reef- " the pontoons are still intact, we can stroll right across."  
  
"Wonder why that could be," Mir said darkly. "It's the perfect place to send a bunch of Lurkers, isn't it? A nice, Eco-filled place made of Precursor metal, probably choc-full of Power Cells and Orbs-"  
  
"It's not any more," Daxter said smugly. "We told you, we've been all through it, looking for Cells to power that pile of rubble over there. The only things we have to worry about are the traps."  
  
"And that's much better," Vester said sarcastically. "All we have to worry about is huge pools of Dark Eco and freaky yellow water and being zapped by Blue Eco and- what the-?"  
  
A tiny green animal had crawled out from the remains of crates Ptek had smashed through - it heavily resembled Daxter, except that it had green fur and was wearing a very mournful expression. It wore no goggles - instead it had a very small helmet covering its head. It looked vaguely familiar.  
  
Jak stared at it, his eyes widened. "You're - you're-" he stuttered. "Do I know you?" the green ottsel stared at him with huge, sad looking eyes. "Wait - aren't you that kid that made me put the bridge back together?"  
  
"Er.."  
  
"Yes, I think you are. Didn't you defeat that - creature that was on the cliff?"  
  
Daxter puffed out his chest proudly (and unnecessarily, as it had been Jak who had done the work). "Yeah, we both did."  
  
The green ottsel continued to stare at him for a second, then it's eyes filled with tears. "It should have been me who defeated it!" it wailed. "I, the village warrior, shouldn't have let my own despair stand in the way of protecting the innocent." With a jolt of recognition, Jak realized - this was the warrior that had attempted to defeat the giant Lurker known as 'Klaww'. He and Daxter had paid him 90 Precursor Orbs to fix the village bridge, which he had pulled apart because he'd been afraid that the monster would come down to get him after he'd failed to defeat it. The ottsel that he had become was now sobbing uncontrollably, resisting both Lethra's and Karok's attempts to comfort him. He'd been just like this when Jak had first seen him - engulfed by despair and no use to anyone.  
  
"C'mon," he muttered to Mir. "I've seen this guy, there's no point trying to get him to come with us, we'll just waste time."  
  
"But.. but shouldn't we try to.."  
  
"Believe me, the only thing you'll gain is a deep dislike for fantasy stories. Oh, by the way.." he pointed to the stick-and-string construction she had now slung over her back, "What is that?"  
  
She beamed at him, looking pleased that she had something to explain to him. "It's a bow. These are called arrows," she showed him one of the pointed, feathery things that she had shot at the Lurkers, "see, you put the arrow against the string, like this, and then you pull it back and let it go," she demonstrated, the arrow flying through the air and burying itself into one of the sacks on the other side of the plaza. "I used it mainly for shooting rats, but it helps when you need to hit stuff from a fair way away. I can't believe you haven't seen one before - weren't you ever trained in using weapons?" Jak shook his head.  
  
"Only Eco, Samos was more concerned with hitting Daxter over the head then teaching us about stuff like that. He might have mentioned them once or twice.. but I think Dax was trying to convince me to take a high dive off the top of his hut that day.. so I'm not sure.."  
  
"Hey, guys! I mean.. er.. guy and girl.. oh, you get the freakin' point, we gotta get to that big copper.. thing.. that is where we're trying to get to, right?"  
  
"Yes, Ptek. That big copper thing is where we're trying to get to. Now, look both ways before crossing the lurker infested water, and make sure you knock before entering the thousand-year-old Precursor city."  
  
"Shut up, Versca."  
  
"I will when you do." Ptek threw a folded blanket at her.  
  
*  
  
The city was, as usual, cool and soothing inside, due to the fact that it was kilometres under the water. The pale blue lights that lined the wide, bronze corridors were as bright as always, but for some reason the light looked different.. darker.. this puzzled Jak for a moment, until he remembered that the heavy cloud of Dark Eco obscured the two suns that lit his world.  
  
"Is this it?" Ptek enquired.  
  
Jak looked at him, he was staring in a very unimpressed way at the multi coloured fish swarming behind the glass. He grinned. So did Daxter. "You ain't seen nothin' yet.' Daxter said. Jak, meanwhile, was staring at the fish.  
  
"How come they're not dead?"  
  
Vester looked at him in a patronizing way. "I think the water acts as a solvent for the Dark Eco," he said in a way that made Jak want to hit him. "It dissolves it, so it won't penetrate down here. They won't be able to swim to the surface, but they're really much safer down here." He happily inspected their surroundings. "Kind of like us, really."  
  
Just then a shadow passed across the window they'd been staring at. It was only when it open it's fanged mouth and swallowed every single last one of the smaller fish that they realized it was a Lurker Shark. It glared at them in a hungry sort of way, then swam off.  
  
Which didn't leave them feeling all that safe.  
  
As they marched further into the City, with Jak leading them and having to stop Trax several times from going for a swim in the energized water, Jak became more and more nervous. While the City was well hidden and hard to infiltrate, there wasn't really anywhere they could sleep or hide.  
  
"This is great. Just *great*" said Versca. "Nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat, and nowhere to hide. The perfect headquarters. Trax, what are you *doing*?!?"  
  
Trax was sniffing at the glowing, blue panels that provided the light. Then suddenly, she started scratching at one of them and whining. Mir bent down to look at the panel and noticed a tiny rounded lighting bolt engraved into the metal.  
  
"Hey Jak, do you know what this means?"  
  
"Oh, oh, I do! Pick me, pick me!" Daxter was jumping up and down on Jak's shoulder, holding his paw in the air as though he was the 'know-it-all' in a classroom.  
  
Mir rolled her eyes. "Yes, weasel-boy?"  
  
Daxter bristled, but for once in his life decided not to retort. "It means 'Blue Eco'. It's marked on all the vents and stuff. I remember it because there's one just like it on the bridge posts in the Forbidden Jungle. You remember that, Jak?"  
  
"No, Daxter. I *completely* forgot about the events that resulted in me fighting a giant, carnivorous plant."  
  
Mir sighed. "Never mind that, how're we supposed to get Blue Eco over here?"  
  
Jak tilted his head in confusion. "I'll channel it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll pick some up and I sort of get all powered up and.." (he'd noticed the look of total confusion on the faces of the rest of them.) "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"  
  
"Not the foggiest clue, blondey." said Karok cheerfully.  
  
"You can't get powered up with Eco?"  
  
"No more than I can fly over the suns. Are you telling me you can?" Ptek enquired skeptically.  
  
"Yes.. I've been able to all my life."  
  
They all stared at him.  
  
"I told you he had hidden powers." Vester said triumphantly. He turned to Mir. "Didn't I tell you?"  
  
Mir hit him, the looked at Jak. "Well, if you're so Eco-positive, get some over here," she pointed at a convenient cluster, some thirty metres away. "Go on!"  
  
Jak stared at her with an eyebrow raised, then jogged over to the Eco and put his hand in it. Instantly he felt the rush - like a thousand cups of coffee with a thousand bags of icing sugar - and zipped back to the others with incredible speed, crackling with blue energy. It flowed out of him in azure streams, forming cracks in the metal that joined to form a circular opening.  
  
By the time the Eco faded from his body, there was a round hole that opened out into a whole new corridor that he had never seen before.  
  
Grinning smugly at the others (and receiving several glares in return) Jak stepped through the opening. After glancing at each other suspiciously, the rest of the group followed.  
  
~  
  
Kyren: Yay. She did it.  
  
Shalashaska: She sure writes long.  
  
Kyren: Yah. I think the next time she doesn't make her writing a little straighter to the point I'll have to threaten her with pancakes. Anyway thanks to dee peoples who reviewed. I will hug the laptop for you.. ready- *squeeze* ^_^ now I promised a lot of tanku's (thank you's) to you guys so.. tanku tanku tanku tanku tanku tanku tanku tanku tanku tanku. Now be a good little reader and press da purdy button (it has 'Go' on it.). ( Hey, I almost forgot to say..you guessed it..VOO!) 


	5. Familiar Faces

(readers enter a large arena. There are several smoking craters in the walls, floor and ceiling. Stepping cautiously around what looks like the wreckage of a very large cannon, they creep into the arena, although they're not sure what they're afraid of. Suddenly, Necralis leaps out from behind a pillar and begins loosing blasts from her dual handguns. The readers run for cover, until she realizes who she is shooting at and lowers her weapons.)  
  
Necralis: Ooops. (smiles sheepishly) sorry about that. Eh heh heh heh, sometime during this long running battle I managed to write Chapter 5. Enjoy! Hey, have you peeps seen Kyren? She's trying to kill me. (in response to the readers questioning looks, she pulls a brightly coloured PS2 game case out of her Harry Potter backpack. It is labeled 'Jak II'.) I managed to get a hold of it, but I need to get to the PS2. She's hiding somewhere up high, trying to snipe me whenever I get too close to it.  
  
(as if to punctuate this statement, a laser sight flickers across her face. In a panic she ducks, conjures a Red Eco shield, then hollers "VADER!" as several bullet holes appear in the wall above her.)  
  
Vader: (stepping from nowhere) Yars?  
  
Necralis: Did you find him?  
  
Vader: (grinning smugly) Uh huh. (he snaps his fingers and the Baron Praxis appears from nowhere, wrapped in chains.)  
  
Necralis: (straightening up and giggling evilly) Goody. All right then, my dear Praxis. I have a proposition for you. (aims one of her handguns right between his eyes. He begins to sweat and the screen goes black.)  
  
**DISCLAIMER** Versca - mine. Jak and Daxter - Naughty Dog's. Everyone else - Kyren's. Jak II: Renegade - mine. MINE ALONE!!! YOU HEAR ME, KYREN?!? AH HAH HAH HAH.. (hack, choke, cough..) Thanks muchly to Lady Tsuru, Shark and Amandaxter. Voo more, plz? Oh, and uh.. there will probably be Jak II references scattered through out this fic due to its sheer and utter coolness. Okay, cherries. Let the fic continue!  
  
Jak II: The Darkened Path. (man, I've just noticed what a lame title that is. Cameo to the one who thinks up a better one..)  
  
Chapter 5: Familiar Faces  
  
"Stop doing that, Daxter."  
  
Corridor and more corridor. That was all they had encountered so far. Jak wouldn't have believed a secret passage could be so very dull, but the complete lack of anything even remotely exciting was making him want to alternately swear and kick things. Daxter's constant attempts to relieve his own boredom by leaping off Jak's shoulder plate and swinging on his hair weren't helping things.  
  
Finally, after a particularly ambitious swing led to some of his hair being pulled out by the roots, Jak grabbed the ottsel by the tail and held him out over Trax's nose. "Here you go, girl. A brand new chew-toy."  
  
Daxter wailed, Trax leapt and Jak, smirking, deposited the weasel back on his shoulder. Daxter glared at him. "That was downright evil, Jak."  
  
Jak rubbed his head, wincing. "No more than ripping half my scalp off. I think I'm going to have bald patches for the rest of my life."  
  
"Whiner."  
  
"Egotist."  
  
"Oh, gods, would you pair just shut up. Have you ever just sat down and listened to yourselves?" Mir was walking behind them, and every time they had one of their arguments, she'd make sudden movements towards the nearest wall.  
  
Daxter looked at her oddly. "Uh.. no, actually. The whole breathing thing gets to me after a while. In, out, in, out. You gotta have more in life, ya know?"  
  
"Daxter."*  
  
"Like left and right. Or up. Now there's a man's direction. Down's for sissies. Forward and back are okay if you like that sort of thing, but up. Give me that any day."  
  
"Daxter."  
  
"Women like a guy who goes for up. March of progress and all that - ark!"  
  
Daxter toppled face first onto the ground and his goggles fell off, while Jak tried to look innocent and failed miserably.  
  
"When you lot are done bickering.." Vester began.  
  
Mir muttered "Like that's ever going to happen."  
  
"You'll notice this godforsaken corridor has come to a halt."  
  
He was right. The long, loooong, boring corridor had come to an abrupt end. Did we mention it was long? In front of them was a wall, carved deeply with pictures and Precursor Script. The pictures were disturbing - there were carvings of cities like the one they were in now, teeming with life instead of silent and deserted. There was one of a pair of creatures - one tall and humanoid, one hunkered down and animal-like. They looked like they were fighting. The one next to it had the animal-like creatures destroying the cities and killing the taller creatures. Lower down, there was what looked like a lone humanoid placing a glittering object into a wall. The last was merely letters, which presumably told the story of what happened in more detail.  
  
Vester walked forward and traced the letters with the tip of his finger, mouthing the words as they came to him. Eventually he stood back, a puzzled frown on his face.  
  
"I don't get it."  
  
"Gee, thanks for enlightening us, we would never have figured it out without your help," said Ptek in a testy voice.  
  
"It says - it says - something that sounds like a prophecy.."  
  
"Foretelling what?" Versca said curiously.  
  
" 'In ancient, dreamless, uninvaded - sleep? I think its sleep..the silent giants wait to be awakened.. something, something.world has no memory of their..beginnings..then a whole block of something that is definitely not Precursor Script..I can't read it. Um.. the one who carries the..light? Laughter? No..it's light. That's right. Will awaken the voices..uh..with him.. one whose fate was..twisted..by..by darkness long ago..in the..time before time.. and then something else about light and answers..." He shrugged helplessly. "that's all I can make out. What do you guys reckon?"  
  
"I reckon it's a load of gibberish," said Ptek helpfully.  
  
"I wouldn't have expected anything more from you, I meant Jak here. Since he's supposed to be all special," Vester added with a leer. "Know anything about this?"  
  
"Er.. I think Samos told me something about this once.. he's read some of the writings of the Precursors.. but they were never complete, and he was always trying to get us to look for more. Not that we ever listened to him."  
  
"Sounds a bit like you, I reckon."  
  
Jak turned to Versca, his mouth hanging open. "What?!"  
  
"I had a chat with one of those Oracle things once. Didn't really tell me much.. just stuff about how I didn't have the light within.. yadda yadda yadda. But it always referred to Eco as 'The Light'. So, for someone to have 'the light within' I think they'd have to be good with eco. And the twisted by darkness part.. didn't you say you knocked weasel-boy into some Dark Eco?"  
  
Jak bristled. "It was an accident!"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, I believe you, don't get your ears in a knot, but Dark Eco could be called Darkness, couldn't it?"  
  
Daxter thought about it. "I 'spose.."  
  
"So, Jak carries the light within and Weasel-boy was twisted by darkness. But then it's all going on about awakening giants and all that crap. Never awakened a giant, have you, blondey?"  
  
"There Iwas/I the Precursor Robot, wasn't there?" Daxter said brightly.  
  
"Shut up." Jak said quietly.  
  
"Well there was!" Daxter whined, sure that, for once in his life, he wasn't saying anything wrong.  
  
"Just don't say.."  
  
"Don't say what?"  
  
Mir had joined their argument, staring curiously from one to the other. "Is it somehow your fault we have to hide in here?"  
  
"It's.." Jak couldn't tell her. He couldn't. But she was staring at him with those big blue eyes. She had saved his life twice now. She deserved the truth. Hating both himself for failing and Mir for being so goddamn perceptive, he gritted his teeth and forced the words out from between them. "It is my fault. Sort of. I.. was the first to find out what Gol and Maia were doing.. hell, they came right up and announced it to us. Me and Daxter.. and Samos and Keira.. we were trying to find a way to cure Daxter. Samos told us to go and talk to Gol, he's the sage of Dark Eco.  
  
"But.. he was insane. The Eco drove him over the edge, I think.. but anyway, he and his sister Maia were going to open the Precursor silos and use it to reshape the world. They rebuilt a Precursor robot to do it with.. but just before they launched it, me and Daxter forced our way into their citadel. We fought it.. I had to use Yellow Eco to hit it.. and I think I would have managed it too, but.." he now looked thoroughly miserable, and would have given anything he owned to stop them all from staring at him.. " I fell. From the top of the silo. I was.. saved, by some freaky girl popping from nowhere.. and then I met Mir. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be here. Some prophecy I turned out to be," he added with a rather pathetic attempt at a smile. "I would give anything to go back..to put it right.. but.. I know I can't. I would say sorry.. but I don't think it'll help much."  
  
He turned away, mainly to avoid their stares, but then Mir did something he would never have expected. She hugged him.  
  
"It's not your fault. You tried. I don't think any of us would have the courage to even face up to something like that, let alone admit that they failed."  
  
The others didn't seem to be taking that rather more cheerful viewpoint. Ptek was now looking at him as though he had changed into a giant spider, Versca was wearing a very silly expression of disbelief, and the others had similarly 'cheerful' outlooks.  
  
"How come I don't get a hug?" Daxter demanded. Then he grinned. "Or a kiss. I'm not choosey." He puckered up.  
  
"I think I'd rather kiss a Lurker snake." Mir said brightly.  
  
Lethra, contrary to all the others, had ignored the entire conversation and was poking nervously at the wall. While Ptek and Versca started arguing about which one would get to shoot Daxter (with loud and vicious protests from the Ottsel in question), she made a soft call that everyone but Karok ignored. He followed her pointing finger - she was indicating a tiny hole in one of the carvings. Karok poked at it. Instantly the carvings cracked, split, then moved a part, leaving a wide space that led into - you guessed it - more corridor. But this was different. There were doors leading off it, doors labeled in Precursor Script, a strange, hooked style, with sweeping letters. There was a 'Workshop', a 'conservatory', and an 'armory'.  
  
Incredibly, Vester, Ptek, Versca, Jak, Daxter and Mir were still arguing, egged on by loud yaps from Trax, who appeared to be rooting for Ptek. It took a couple of taps on the shoulder from Lethra, a bellow or two from Karok and a screech contributed by Daxter (after Karok stood on his foot) to get their attention, and when they did, they weren't exactly happy.  
  
"You better have a very good reason for-" Mir began. Then she stopped and stared in utter amazement.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Karok said happily. "I may have just solved all our problems."  
  
*  
  
The new corridor hadn't exactly solved all their problems, such as the fact that the world was covered in Dark Eco, and that Daxter was still a weasel, and Jak was still riddled with guilt at having failed, (not to mention he still hadn't found Keira) but it did solve the immediate, nagging problems. For example, the conservatory was full of plants. Plants with fruit on them. Mir's not-terribly-enthusiastic warnings about poison were drowned out by Ptek's bellow of "FOOD!!" as he raced across the grass and started inhaling anything that looked even remotely edible.  
  
The Armory was full of weapons. Lots and lots of weapons, from bows and arrows, to swords, to daggers (Versca started drooling and still hadn't stopped playing with a hooked knife made of Precursor Metal) and very strange looking devices that Jak figured out were Red Eco Shields after decoding the writing on them and banging one against a wall. Vester pounced on a ridiculously long sword with a curved handle and started twirling it round and round (he had already nearly decapitated Mir twice) and Karok favored a Morningstar*, which he kept taking out, weighing in his hand and putting back on his belt. It was only after Versca had threatened to make him eat it that he put it away for good. Lethra chose some thin silver knives and tested them on some of Trax's fur, earning many loud and furious insults from Ptek after she shaved a few hairs from the mutt's tail. Jak showed Mir some arrows with heads made of Precursor Metal, but after examining one from end to end she pronounced them "too light," and placed them back on the shelf.  
  
The Workshop, as well as being insanely cluttered, reminded Jak painfully of Keira, because it was full of all the sorts of things she had loved to mess with. There was everything from screwdrivers to welders, even a tiny furnace in one corner. Amazingly, plans covered almost every available space, slightly yellowed from age but completely intact. Ptek had knocked Lethra over in his haste to get in there. Mir informed Jak that he was a mechanic; he loved almost anything made of metal. He had even built a vehicle once - he had called it a 'Swifter', but it had been powered by Blue Eco and the second it was started up, it had shot forward, crashed into a wall and blown up. After that he had focused mainly on smaller things, like watches and communicators. "If you say the word 'swift' in his hearing," Mir told Jak, "He gets tears in his eyes and locks himself in his workshop for hours."  
  
By the time they had inspected every corner of every room, they chose one of the largest and set up some beds. Vester lent Jak a couple of blankets and gave one to Daxter, which Jak folded up and put next to his head. "He's afraid of the dark," Jak informed Versca when she enquired.  
  
"Well guess what," Ptek said gloomily. "No lamps, so we can't blow them out. No lights, so we can't switch them off. Not even shutters, for god's sake. So, boys and girls, we are sleeping in full daylight until I can figure out how to turn these damn things off." A chorus of moans and swearwords greeted this statement.  
  
Jak shrugged and yawned. "I don't care if we have to sleep on Sentinel Beach on a stormy night, I'm so ver-very-" he had to stifle another huge yawn, "tired. I'm stuffed. I want to sleep. Now."  
  
And with that he flopped onto his bed. Within a minute he was breathing deeply.  
  
*  
  
Jak didn't know what time of day it was. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was with Keira, and she was safe. And happy. She was watching a bird drop out of sight behind the cliff.  
  
"Keira - I.."  
  
She turned to him and smiled. "Yes Jak?"  
  
Those words had always stuck in his throat. Yet somehow, now, he could say them.  
  
"I love you."  
  
"That's nice."  
  
That reply didn't fit. He'd thought she'd say "I love you too." But it was still kind of a confirmation, so he was happy enough. He hugged her, holding her close as if to protect her from harm. He whispered very close in her ear, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."  
  
She smiled again, only this time it was incredibly sad, like the eyes of the White Girl who had rescued him from falling. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Jak." Then she simply evaporated into swirling red mist.  
  
Jak's eyes widened as the mist surged forward and wrapped around his arms, his legs.. desperately he struggled, but it only wrapped tighter, crushing the air from his lungs. He opened his mouth to scream, and it coiled into his mouth, burning, sucking away oxygen -  
  
"Jak! IJak/I! Wake up!"  
  
(N&V: is that..? it is! FLUFF! Cool!)  
  
"Snor-Wha..?!?" Jak opened his eyes blearily, then immediately closed them again because the light was making them hurt.  
  
"Don't you go back to sleep, you blob, you gotta get up NOW!" Mir's voice yelled in his ear.  
  
Jak forced his eyes open again and mumbled something that even he didn't understand. Karok was staring at him.  
  
"Who's Keira?" he asked curiously.  
  
"She's - she's - what? How did you-?"  
  
"No time for that, god, guys, get yourselves together!"  
  
"What's the big hurry?" Ptek moaned. His bandanna had slipped over his eyes and he was trying to recall the correct movements to pull it up again.  
  
"I heard - while I was on watch - damn, we've gotta hide! Damn you, Vester, get UP! Get you sword.. " and with that she raced out of the room, tripping on blankets and half dragging Jak with her.  
  
As he managed to wake up properly he said "Mir - What-?" She was taking him towards the Blue Eco door.  
  
"Just.. be quiet, stay here, you listen, I'll get the others.. no, stay here." Just as quickly as she'd arrived, she left, leaving Jak to stare after her, mystified. As he looked back towards the door, he heard deep echoing footsteps, then a sharp voice rapping out orders.  
  
"Kyra, Necris, you go down that passage, Ylaster, put that thing DOWN. Keira, you check down this way and don't try to fight them on your own if you find them, call for the others. Ylaster, I'm not going to warn you again.."  
  
Had that voice said-?  
  
It had. Keira. Keira was in the city.  
  
(kyren is, it turns out, high up in a tower in the centre of the arena. She is kneeling down, squinting through the high-powered zoom scope of her rifle. Shalashaska is bouncing around, offering 'encouragment'.)  
  
Shalashaska: shoot her shoot her shoot her..  
  
Kyren: Shala..  
  
Shalashaska: shoot her shoot her shoot her..  
  
Kyren: (in a warning tone) Shala..  
  
Shalashaska: shoot her shoot her shoot her..  
  
(kyren jumps up and hits him over the head, knocking him out.)  
  
Kyren: (kneeling down again and muttering) now I've lost her.. ah ha! There she is! Now.. Necralis.. gun.. Jak II. Hey, What the-?  
  
(Necralis simply vanishes, taking the Baron with her.)  
  
Kyren: (leaping up and throwing down her rifle) God damn it! Now I have to go and find her.. (looks at camera) okay, okay, fine maybe I'll let her win just this once..  
  
(a large bucket of slime appears over her head and pours itself everywhere, drenching Kyren. Kyren shrieks and races out the door, looking murderous. Shalashaska wakes up, then follows her, throwing the words, "VOOOOOOOOO!!!! PLEASE!" back at the camera)  
  
*I kinda stole that from Aaron Allston's X-wing novels. Only he says, "Wes,"  
  
*A morningstar is a kinda elongated mace: it looks a bit like a round hairbrush. (thanks to my brother for informing me of this) 


	6. Shadows

(In some obscure location, well-hidden from prowling snipers..)  
  
(skipping around the room) I am a genius, I am a genius..  
  
Vader: Is there any point in asking-?  
  
Necralis: I got a High Distinction in the NSW English Compo! Hear that, Angelus? You were flaming a PRIZEWINNER! (pokes tongue out at the winged menace) YAHAA! (does a happy dance) I am smart, I'm a superbrain, I wonder if I'm smarter than Dib? (walks off thinking and bangs into wall) WHEE! CHAP 6!! I kinda think this ones purdy dull, cause of da lack o action - its just got lotsa sneakin' about. And.. some.. other stuff. Oh, and please do not kill me over what I did with Keira. She will be fine. I PROMISE. (Puts on a distinctly furtive expression.)  
  
Vader: (Grinning) but you can't make the same promise about -  
  
Necralis: (Pulls out dual handguns and points them at the muse's nose.) Care to finish that sentence?  
  
Vader: (going cross-eyed as he stares down the twin barrels - his grin goes slightly watery) You know, I think I just lost my enthusiasm.  
  
Necralis: (Puts away handguns) Wise choice. (Nod) Now. Read. And voo. It'll only take a few minutes of your time to press that happy little button and enter some probably sugar-crazed babbling. But it makes me HAPPY!! With capital letters! MANY capital letters! PANCAKES! YAHAA! SQUEE! (One of Kai's pink and evil things appears from nowhere and lodges itself in her head - Necralis falls over, a slightly deranged grin still on her face.)  
  
**DISCLAIMER** We don't own stuff. Ya know, Jak, Daxter and them. I own Versca and Necris. Kyren owns other people. Thanky so much for the voos we have received so far - to a grand total of 23! Nobinoir, Amandaxter, Shark, Becca, Kiz, and Lady Tsuru, we couldn't have done it without you. (Sniff).(If I missed anyone, I'm sorry, I suffer from Cerebral Porosity Syndrome). (Nod) Angelus-Zion, keep vooing. Point out my mistakes so that I can sob, then try and fix 'em. Come ooooon, I dare ya! Angelus is a chicken, Angelus is a chicken.. buk buk bukuk! Oh yeah.. any thing in 'these' marks is thoughts. "These" marks are speech - I still haven't worked out how to get the damn ff.net website to register Italics. This - * - means a gap in time or the start of a dream, whilst this - ~ - means the start and finish of the chapter.  
- ~ -  
  
Chapter 6: Shadows  
  
Feeling as though he was in a dream, Jak reached out his hand to press the button that opened the door from this side. Just as the tips of his fingers brushed it, he almost choked as someone grabbed a hold of his collar, jerking him backwards.  
  
"What do you think you were doing?!" Vester said furiously, "Do you want us to get found?"  
  
Jak struggled against the taller man's grip, trying to yell to Keira, tell her he was here..  
  
Vester clapped his hand over Jak's mouth, ignoring the noises of protest Jak was making. "You just keep your mouth shut, blondey, you're supposed to be listening in! Whatever you heard, whatever you may hear, stay put!"  
  
Another voice spoke from the other side of the door, this one female, high- pitched.  
  
Keira's voice.  
  
"He's got blonde hair and blue eyes, also a blue tunic. Whatever you do, don't let him get too close, that spin-kick of his packs a nasty punch. Ylaster, don't stop to give him one of your speeches, you'll just get a face-full of knuckle."  
  
"Ylaster the Mighty takes no orders from a blue-haired upstart! All shall perish! Ylaster the Mighty is the master of Dark Eco, slayer of thousands, taker of cities! All shall perish!"  
  
Silence followed this fairly ridiculous speech, on both sides of the door. In that time, Versca, Karok, Lethra, Daxter and Mir turned up, each carrying their respective weapons for some inexplicable reason. Jak couldn't understand why they all looked so tense, Keira was on the their side, she wouldn't hurt them..  
  
"Necris." The sharp voice was speaking again. "Stop swapping weapons like that, it's distracting for the other Shadows."  
  
A faint, disturbing giggle was heard. Versca's mouth fell open. "Switchy switchy, back and forth, up and down and inside out." This voice was also female, sounding slightly insane. Then suddenly, it changed, becoming calm and almost maddeningly reasonable. "If you want me to stop, you'll have to bisect me, and I don't think you plan to do that anytime soon."  
  
Versca nudged Mir and hissed something in her ear. Mir's eye's widened. "You're sure?" Versca nodded.  
  
"Go, everyone. We need to get to a position where we can see these people. Hurry! And for god's sake, Jak, Versca, be quiet! No matter who you think is out there, no matter what happens, don't show yourself!"  
  
Vester put his hand up and whispered, "There's a little manhole, in the ceiling of the other corridor. I checked it out, and there's a little slit that lets you see into the central part of the city."  
  
Daxter looked suspicious. "How do you know about that?"  
  
Vester rolled his eyes. "I explored, weasel-boy. While you and blondey were snoring your gobs off. You sort of run around and look at things?"  
  
"I think the only thing you'd ever explore would be your-"  
  
Fortunately, Daxter was cut off as Jak put his hand over his mouth and raced to beat Versca to the hole. Jak, being shorter, was a little faster, but Versca's life had revolved around being agile and fit. She reached the hole first, wrenched the cover off, vaulted into the hole beyond and started crawling rapidly along the tunnel.  
  
It took her about five seconds to realize she didn't need to crawl. The tunnel was dark, true, and musty, but it was large enough to stand in. Jak had not taken defeat - he had also clambered up through the hole, leaving Daxter to complain loudly about being left behind.  
  
She glared at him for second, then slumped. "Come on, let's go see what we can see, eh?"  
  
Jak nodded. "Sounds good."  
  
They raced together along the tunnel, having to duck occasionally to avoid protruding Eco pipes. They ran lightly to prevent the Precursor Metal from making its usual echoing 'Bong!' as their feet came down. This time, Jak reached the destination first; a slit in the wall that looked out over the second large chamber in the city. The one that had, until recently, contained a pair of Scout Flies imprisoned in tubes.  
  
"Shove over, I wanna see,"  
  
"There's no one there-"  
  
"There will be, move it-"  
  
"Keep your hands to yourself-"  
  
The distinctive sound of footsteps on Precursor Metal cut short their argument, and they both jammed their eyes up to the slit, cursing occasionally as elbows dug into stomachs.  
  
Someone wearing a black bandana and carrying a very large stick stepped into the chamber, scanning for any sign of movement. They were followed by a second person - someone with strange-looking hair, black and long on one side and short blonde streaked with violet on the other.  
  
Versca gasped and her left hand flew to her mouth, while her right fumbled for support against the wall behind her. "Necris- oh god, Necris-"  
  
"See anything?" one of the people in the chamber (bandanna person) was speaking to the other, her voice drifting up to their peephole.  
  
"The air and the water and all the sweet little fishy-wishies-" it was the insane-sounding girl they'd heard next to the door.  
  
The bandanna'd girl (clearly a girl) whacked Half'n'half across the head.  
  
"I said, do you SEE anything?"  
  
Half-hair sheathed the dagger she had been holding and drew a long sword out of the holster on her back. She inspected it calmly, and when she answered, it was the calm, reasonable voice she had answered the leader with. "Nothing you can't see, such as hidden passages and fugitives. Whose this kid we're supposed to be looking for again?"  
  
"Jerk or Jek, something like that. The mistress and master want him- can't think why, when they've got us."  
  
"Did it occur to you that it might be for something other than enhancement?"  
  
"What do you.. Oh. Now I get it."  
  
"Yeah they might want him for - tea parties, with Mr snake and Mrs Elephant- " Half-hair had put away her sword and pulled out the dagger again.  
  
"Could never make up her mind." Versca whispered softly. "Always switching back and forth.."  
  
Jak shot her a puzzled look and noticed that there was a glitter in her eyes, reflecting the light from the slit in the wall. He reached out to her in concern, not sure what, if anything, he could say to comfort her - and then wheeled around and jammed his eye back to the slit, because someone else had just entered the chamber. Two people, in fact. One was a short man wearing a stupid hat - it looked like he had a blob alien nesting on his head. The other had dark blue and green hair. She wore a tattered, skimpy white shirt and longish, purple pants - but the sliver of skin that he could see wasn't the usual colour. It was a sickly grey-blue, rather like the shade of Gol and Maia's skin.  
  
He let his eyes rove between the four people in the chamber, and realized that they were all like that - all had strangely coloured skin and purple streaks in their hair. Three of them were also dressed in purple and black clothing, like a kind of uniform. But the forth - the girl with green-blue hair - she was very familiar..  
  
Keira?  
  
But Keira was his friend - more than his friend - she wouldn't be taking orders from such obviously evil people.  
  
Would she?  
  
The short man in the ridiculous hat turned and stared at the chamber. He was wearing a black hip-cloak that he was holding across his shoulders, like a shawl. On someone - anyone - else, it might have looked impressive, but with this guy, it just made him look stupid.  
  
"Ylaster believes that there is no one here. Ylaster thinks they departed before the might and horror of his most terrifying self! For Ylaster is the evilest, most terrible, most nasty being in the history of the world!" Then, as an afterthought, he added, "All shall perish!"  
  
Half-n-half changed weapons yet again. Behind Jak, Versca hiccupped. "If Ylaster does not desist in giving speeches about his most mightiest self, then Necris will be forced to remove his most mightiest head."  
  
The girl who-could-be-Keira shook her head. "I'm sure he's here. He has to be here! Where else would he be? That rodent who hangs around with him-"  
  
"-Is not our concern. We have to find the boy. I'm sure - positive - that he would try to go against the Master and Mistress. He's supposed to be a hero. He would try to even the score."  
  
"You didn't know him, you stick-wielding bandanna freak! Anyway, only fools are positive."  
  
"You sure about that?"  
  
"I'm po- shut up! I know he's here!"  
  
The girl that-could-be-Keira cast her gaze around the chamber one last time, and for a single, brief, heart-stopping instant, her eyes rested directly on Jak's. Green. They were still green, those eyes, but they burnt with the strange cold fire he had seen in the eyes of Gol and Maia.  
  
But it was Keira. There could be no doubt. She had the same hairstyle, the same clothes, the same hands and eyes and nose. Even the same goggles. But she was not Keira. She had become an agent of Gol and Maia.  
  
A Shadow of the Eco that covered his world.  
  
All the horror, all the sorrow, all the grief and fury and guilt he felt from the instant he looked into those familiar eyes, it all converged into one huge dark wave that swept him away into a corner of his mind. He stood up, staggered, lost his balance and crashed to the floor, banging his head on one of the protruding Eco pipes.  
  
He heard Versca give one startled gasp, then everything went black.  
  
*  
  
..since I made you, I can destroy you..  
  
..such a part of this..  
  
..eventually kill you..  
  
'What is going on?'  
  
Jak thought he opened his eyes; at least, that's what it felt like. His first impression was one of dull colour, and when his vision cleared, he could see flickering swatches of colour that danced and swirled like butterflies. He stretched out his hand to touch one, to see what it felt like, but it darted out of his reach. He could hear faint echoes of speech, fading in and out like a badly tuned radio, but they were fuzzy and indistinct.  
  
He couldn't remember hearing any of this in his lifetime.. but it still seemed vaguely familiar, like memories from a childhood he had long forgotten..  
  
..crying out for protection..  
  
..the stone - in my hands..  
  
And then something cold and wet splashed across his face.  
  
Sputtering, he opened his eyes - it had been a dream, after all - and stared into Mir's concerned face.  
  
"I think that did it," she said to a resigned-looking Ptek.  
  
"Hey, I never said I cared what happened to him. Did I say I cared about what happened to him?" he directed this question towards Versca, who didn't answer. He looked wildly around for someone else to complain to and found no one - Vester, Lethra, Karok, Trax and Daxter were asleep.  
  
"You don't care what happens to him, so you stayed awake just to see whether or not he had brain damage and tried your best to follow my instructions to wake him up. Then you asked whether it was even a good idea to wake him up, as the shock he'd just experienced might be dulled if he stayed asleep for while."  
  
"Yeah, well.. we, uh.. wouldn't be able to get into this part of the city if he died.."  
  
Mir didn't even grace this with a response, instead turning back to Jak, who tried to get up and promptly fell over again because of a gargantuan headache.  
  
"Don't try to get up for a little while, you've managed to get yourself quite a lump, and you sure as heck don't want another one. I decided to wake you up when this lot-" she indicated the sleepers with a wave of her hand "-couldn't pester you with questions."  
  
Jak slowly sat up again and felt his head - there was indeed a large lump and the lens of his goggles had been shattered.  
  
"Where are-"  
  
"They're gone. The blue-haired one and the bandanna girl argued for a while, but I think they've decided to report to their bosses and see what happens. Hey - I wanted to ask you - whose Keira?"  
  
"How do you know about-"  
  
"Karok told me. He can - uh - never mind. She sounds like she was important to you."  
  
"She - is. Was. I don't know. She's my friend."  
  
"Your friend, eh?"  
  
He glared at her. "Don't make fun of it. She's the blue-haired girl you were talking about."  
  
"So why was she taking orders from-"  
  
"I don't know. The same reason Versca's a muttering wreck, I think."  
  
Mir glanced over at Versca, who was sitting with her hands around her knees and rocking back and forth, mumbling very fast under her breath.  
  
"Necris - the switching girl, the one who kept saying weird things - Versca knew her. She was a circus performer too; she was an acrobat. You're not the only one confused about your friends. Although," said Mir in a concerned voice, "She seems taken it much harder than you did."  
  
"I'm - used to - failure."  
  
Mir looked back at him and noticed the expression of utter misery on his face. Her voice became soft and comforting. "The odds were stacked ridiculously high - I mean, one kid against a giant robot? - Just another question, er.. no offence, but why did you even try?"  
  
"Samos."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Samos. The Green Sage. Keira's his daughter. He - he asked me and Daxter to go and destroy the robot. He said we were real heroes - so, we had to try at least." Jak paused. "I really felt like we could do it for a little while. It felt - I dunno - right. Now, everything feels wrong. Like - something's missing, been left undone."  
  
"Yeah," said Mir, and for a moment, she looked as though she knew something. "This whole thing's felt wrong from the start."  
  
- ~ -  
  
Kyren: Dammit, Necralis, where are you?!  
  
Shalashaska: She seems to be able to teleport.  
  
Kyren: She's always been able to do that.  
  
Shalashaska: Oh, and where's your power of teleportation then?  
  
Kyren: I swapped it for..something.  
  
Shalashaska: Really? I don't supposed you'd tell-  
  
Kyren: Nope. Anyway, please voo! I've lost Necralis! But I think she teleported thataway (motions to somewhere off in the distance) .  
  
Shalashaska: How do you know?  
  
Kyren: Special powers! Now, let's get down to business..  
  
Shalashaska: I'm right behind ya, Kyren!  
  
*Kiz, Lady Tsuru, if you want to claim these cameos, you'll have to email a description to my address at pyrotekchic@yahoo.com.au . You are to be members of the shadows, so be evil! (Nod) so, it's long, ain't it? But could you voo, please?  
  
Oh.. yeah.. mistake number 1: a morning-star is just a normal mace, not an elongated one. (blushes) my brother read this and started berating me for making him look stupid. I'm sorry, I'm such a fantasy buff, I have trouble telling the difference between truth and reality. (yes, it's meant to say that.) 


	7. Shoot First

I is terribly sorry to have you waiting so long. Bad Necralis, Bad! (slaps self in the head) Ouch! We bought Futurama season two and watched it and it completely melted my brain through being so good. Of course without even the rudimentary mush that I call my mind, I was unable to write the fic, but with much Coke, many lollies and an unhealthy amount of sugar, I recovered. Let me bring you up to speed. Kyren is in there, (points to a warehouse) the door is locked, she's got some new project that she won't tell me about AND SHE TOOK THE PS2 IN THERE WITH HER!! (kicks the warehouse door and turns into Dark Necralis out of sheer frustration)  
  
Vader: Where the buggery did you find that ability?  
  
Dark Necralis: Oh, you know..(inspects claws) just.. pulled a few strings.  
  
(in the background, the Baron Praxis can be seen nursing several broken fingers and toes)  
  
(Dark Necralis attacks the door, gouging deep gashes in the metal, but it still won't open.)  
  
Vader: Aaah, just forget it and give the readers a chapter.  
  
Dark Necralis: (turning back into normal Necralis and staggering) oooh.. I can see why Jak wants revenge against the Baron. That form gives you a major brainfreeze.  
  
Vader: and speaking of brainfreezes..  
  
Necralis: um.. these terms are turning my brain upside down, so could ya please clarify them for me? Call me a stupid noob if you like, but I would like to know.. I also don't watch much anime, sorry. I've had a sheltered life.  
  
OOC: I know what an OC is, but what is an OOC? A typo? I'm confused..  
  
Mary Sue's: Angelus-Zion said she hated these..  
  
Hope ya can tell me.  
  
**DISCLAIMER** Ahem.. What do you call a boat full of lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? (Waits for a second) A good start! (Dead silence. Necralis sighs) Well, I thought it was funny. Jak and Daxter - Naughty God's - I mean - Dog's. Necris and Versca - mine. Lady Ubegi belongs to Lady Tsuru and Sierra belongs to Kiz (congrats!). Everyone else - Kyren's. Also, voo. Thank you to our regular readers and all others who click that button! And.. [I] a test [I/] Now, onwards! Onwards with teh show!  
  
- ~ -  
  
Chapter 7: Shoot First  
  
"Are you sure it's not poisonous?" said Jak, inspecting the green-skinned fruit in his hand.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure. Ptek ate one yesterday, and he hasn't dropped dead yet," sighed Mir.  
  
"But it might be slow-acting poison."  
  
"Oh, don't be so bloody paranoid," said Versca, though the words were hard to decipher because her mouth was crammed full of something blue.  
  
Jak continued to eye the fruit suspiciously and Mir sighed again. "Well, if you're not gonna eat it, give it here. I need target practice."  
  
Jak handed the fruit over, eager to see more bow expertise. Mir took the fruit, eyes falling for a moment on the spectacular bruise over his left eye and cheekbone. It was starting to heal (thanks to Lethra and her weird smelling lotion) but it would still be quite a while before the poor guy would look normal. Ptek was supposed to be working on fixing his goggles, but the guy had been locked in his workshop for the past few days, ignoring knocks on the door and throwing spanners at any one who dared enter.  
  
As she walked over to a far spot on the grass, Versca swallowed her mouthful and said, "Isn't it lucky we found this place?"  
  
"Huh?" Jak was too busy watching Mir judging angles to construct a coherent reply.  
  
Versca waved her hand at the conservatorium, a large, glass-walled room with Eco-pipes supplying Green Eco to sustain the plants. "I mean, the passage. It had every thing we needed, weapons, food, a place to hide.."  
  
"Your point being..?"  
  
"It's almost made for us. Like the Precursors knew we were going to come here and find it. You don't find that strange?"  
  
Jak smirked. "Now who's being paranoid?" he said, then shrugged, looking around at the peaceful, plant-filled chamber. "After I saw my best friend clamber out of a pool of Dark Eco covered in orange fuzz, my definition of strange was kind of.. changed. A lot. I don't really worry that much about good luck, because it can be taken away from you the moment you stop to think about it."  
  
This time, Versca smirked. "Ooh, so wise and all. Must be a side effect of being a prophecy fulfiller." She stretched and yawned, lying back on the soft grass. "I guess you're right."  
  
Mir walked back to them, having placed the unwanted fruit on a patch of grass around fifty feet away. She picked up her bow from the ground, then bent it with practiced ease and strung it with a bowstring she had pulled out of her pouch. She plucked the string to test that was tight enough - it made a musical 'twang'.  
  
Carefully, she nocked an arrow, pulled it up, aimed and -  
  
Jerked and shot it into the roof as someone let out a loud, strangled yelp.  
  
Versca sat bolt upright and stared at the doorway of the chamber - Ptek was running through the door, wild-eyed and clutching a long, metallic device in his hands.  
  
He raced towards them, babbling incoherently. Mir put down her bow and grinned at the frenzied mechanic as he waved his arms in the air as though he was drowning. Jak stared at him quizzically - the guy was way too excited about a thing that looked like part of a fishing rod.  
  
"Hey, Ptek-man." said Versca.  
  
Ptek seemed to take this as a demand for explanation - he dropped his arms to his sides and started babbling again, only this time it was a little more understandable.  
  
"This is a yellow Eco launcher - there were a couple of blue-prints in the workshop, so I put this together."  
  
"A - a yellow eco launcher? You mean a gu-gun?" Jak was staring at the Eco Launcher with a look of confused recognition.  
  
Ptek rounded on him, looking amazed. "You - you've seen one of these before?"  
  
Jak started muttering specifications under his breath - it was as though he'd memorized them sometime before. "YEP Blaster. Hard to get. They're a little out dated now.."  
  
Ptek looked really confused now. "How.. how the hell?"  
  
Versca raised an eyebrow. "A good question. Hey, Jak, where've you seen one of these things before?"  
  
"I haven't. I've never seen one of these before in my life.."  
  
"Then how the HELL do you know what it is?" Ptek exploded.  
  
"I - I don't know." Jak's face was wearing a puzzled frown, as once again the feeling of wrongness permeated him. He shouldn't be here.. he should be hurtling through a glittering tunnel of blue light, the wind whipping his hair back..  
  
What?  
  
"I think maybe Samos showed me a picture of something like this.." A total lie, but necessary to stop them staring at him.  
  
Mir, unconvinced, continued to look at him as though he was a very hard sum.. she couldn't figure him out, but if she did, it would explain a lot. Ptek, though, grunted and turned away, suddenly wild with excitement once more.  
  
"Look at what this thing does. You just hold it like this, see-" he placed one hand on the barrel and the other on the trigger. "-and you pull this bit here and.."  
  
Ptek didn't have to explain it any further, as with a metallic WHOOSH a huge ball of Yellow Eco shot out the end and splashed against the roof. Versca's eyes grew extremely wide, and with a maniacal grin she extended a hand and said, "I have GOT to try this thing."  
  
Ptek reluctantly handed it over. Versca squinted foolishly down the barrel, her finger way too close to the trigger. Just then Trax raced through the door yipping loudly and causing Versca to jerk and accidentally pull the trigger. Fortunately Jak reacted fast enough to slap it away from her face, the Eco flashing past, singeing a few silver-red hairs but nothing worse.  
  
Versca stood in a shocked stupor, her green eyes large as saucers and her mouth hanging open. Ptek gently pulled the Eco Blaster from her slackened grip, which woke her up enough to say, "I think I'll stick to knives," before sinking slowly onto the grass.  
  
Mir beamed. "Great job, Ptek. This'll be really useful."  
  
Ptek reddened slightly. He opened his mouth to say something modest, but what came out was "Meeeeeh." Clearly he wasn't used to compliments.  
  
Sniggering slightly at Ptek's reaction, Mir patted Versca gently on the head and said, "It's all right, Vercky, the nasty Eco didn't hurt you," before having to run for her life through the door of the chamber as Versca gave chase.  
  
*  
  
Sierra, a pretty young girl with hair of purple streaked orange, flicked the tiny screen on her wristcom upwards, before tapping a small blue button. The com crackled to life as she spoke into it: "Shadow reporting."  
  
A woman's voice came crackling over the com, slightly distorted but still recognizable as Maia. "Ah, Sierra. Nice to hear from you. Have we found our little friends yet?"  
  
"No, Mistress. We searched the Temple and the City, as well as Rock Village. They weren't anywhere there."  
  
Maia's tone was pleasant, but suddenly it took on an icy edge. "Are you sure you were looking hard enough?"  
  
Sierra shivered, although it wasn't cold. "We searched all the rooms, the area around your Citadel. Nothing."  
  
"Did you take the Trackers?"  
  
"Well, no. With all due respect, Mistress, the Trackers are hard to.. control."  
  
"I have dealt with that problem."  
  
"But, Mistress-"  
  
"Are you questioning my orders?"  
  
Sierra took a deep breath. "No, Mistress. Never."  
  
"Okami is en route to your position as we speak. He is young, but he has.. talent. Be sure that he is well protected."  
  
"I will guard him with my life if necessary, Mistress."  
  
"Double-check all the areas you have searched. I want that pair found."  
  
"As you wish, Mistress. I will tell Kyra to up her patrols. The boy will be in our hands by tomorrow."  
  
"See that he is, Sierra. Or I will be forced rethink your leadership of the Shadows."  
  
Sierra nodded, although she knew Maia would not be able to see her. "As you wish, Mistress."  
  
A loud click from the com announced the end of the conversation.  
  
*  
  
"Got any threes?" said Jak.  
  
Daxter stared at the cards in his hand for a long moment.  
  
"Go fish," he said finally. "Got any nines?"  
  
Jak pulled a card out of his own hand with an exaggerated sigh and handed it to the weasel, who punched the air and screeched with triumph.  
  
Mir slapped him round the head. "Keep it quiet! There are decent people trying to sleep around here!" She waved a hand at Karok, who was tossing and muttering to himself in his sleep. Most of it was gibberish, but there one or two understandable phrases.  
  
"The - second.. Shiner.. should the First fail.. there will always be another.."  
  
A loud 'clang' interrupted Karok's sleep talking as Ptek threw a spanner at the panel he was immersed in.  
  
"What's the problem, Mechana-man?" said Daxter.  
  
"Who the hell built this thing?" Ptek yelled, picking up the spanner and whacking it against the wires.  
  
Mir raised an eyebrow. "Um.. probably the Precursors, Ptek."  
  
"Well, it's no wonder they no longer exist!" aid Ptek furiously. "Their electronics are bloody impossible!"  
  
At that moment, Versca wandered in, looking tired. "Watcha doing, playing the drums? How's a girl supposed to think with all this racket going on?"  
  
Ptek yanked a yellow wire out of its housing and waved it about. "I'm TRYING to figure out how to turn the bloody lights off so we can get some bloody decent sleep! But there's so many bloody wires I don't know which one to-"  
  
As Ptek was talking, the lights flickered slightly. Then, without warning, they all cut off with a crackling 'ping!'  
  
The room was plunged into darkness, the only light a faint greenish luminescence coming from outside the room.  
  
"Wonderful," said Versca's voice acidly. "This is just how we wanted to end up."  
  
Ptek felt his way to the panel, his fingers tracing the shapes of the edge, a button, some wires..  
  
"I think I got it! Just gotta connect these two and - YEOOWW!"  
  
The was a loud 'BZZZZT' and the room was briefly lit up by blue light as a bolt of Blue Eco snapped out and knocked Ptek backwards. Versca raced over and knelt next to him, just as the rest of the lights in the city flickered and went out.  
  
"Are you alright? That was some zap."  
  
Ptek shook his head to make the buzzing go away. It didn't work. "I think so, I-"  
  
Versca got up abruptly and walked away, saying over her shoulder, "Good, 'cause I don't have time to baby-sit."  
  
Ptek leapt to his feet. "Now wait just one second-"  
  
Versca probably smirked, but it was hard to tell in the gloom. "Made ya look."  
  
At this point, Lethra stumbled in and Karok jerked awake. "Ooookay, who turned out the lights?"  
  
"It was Ptek." Mir pointed to where she thought the mechanic was standing.  
  
"I'm over here, actually."  
  
"Who said that?"  
  
"I DID!"  
  
"Who's me?"  
  
"You are!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can I go home?"  
  
"Okay, okay, the first thing we need to do is SHUT UP!" Mir's voice, typically taking charge.  
  
"Its.. dark. I don't like the dark.." Daxter, his grating high-pitched voice shaking slightly.  
  
"Don't worry, weasel-boy, the monsters won't get you." Versca, mockingly sympathetic, then ruining it with, "But I will!"  
  
Ptek fumbled his way back to what he thought was the panel, which was lit with occasional sparks of Eco.  
  
"Oy, Lethra, give me that Yellow Eco vial."  
  
Lethra fumbled in her pouch and produced a crystal vial similar to the one she had used to heal Jak, only this one glowed bright yellow in the darkness.  
  
"Now all you gotta do is get over here without - oof!"  
  
"What'd you trip on?"  
  
"Trax, I think.. get down, girl. Yeah, it's definitely Trax. Trax, go over there. Now, Stay. Stay, girl."  
  
Getting bored, Lethra tossed the Eco vial carelessly towards Ptek, who caught it just on the tips of his fingers. He edged back to the panel and held the Eco Vial close to the wiring, inspecting the damage.  
  
"Crap, this is gonna take half the day to fix. The outer circuit is fried, and the inner circuit's gonna need a lot of work."  
  
"But can you fix it?" Mir sounded edgy.  
  
"Of course I can! After all I am a genius," Ptek replied, sounding a bit too sure of himself. "But it might take a while. Oh well, at least we can sleep now."  
  
"We'll all just close our eyes and go to sleep. And in no time at all, it will be tomorrow, and we'll all have been ripped apart by Diya because no one was on watch."  
  
Jak squinted in the direction of the speaker's voice, and by the faint reflection of light on metal, he figured it might be Versca.  
  
Ptek held up his hands and accidentally whacked Mir in the nose. "OK, I am not hearing a lot of support for the sleep thing, so how about we just sit around and stare at the wall?"  
  
"I have an idea." Jak said softly.  
  
"Ooh, Jak has an idea. Quiet, everyone, prophecy boy wants to say something."  
  
Jak wanted to slap Versca but he couldn't get close enough without looking obvious. "I want to know.. how you people ended up down here. How you managed to escape the Eco. And it's pretty plain that Versca wasn't always around you guys.. how'd you meet up with her?"  
  
Mir muttered, "It's a long story."  
  
Jak smiled broadly and sat down. "Good." he said simply.  
  
Mir looked at Karok and Lethra, pleading for help, but they just backed away. Daxter was grinning - he liked stories and he also liked watching people getting humiliated when he wasn't. With a very resigned sigh, Mir sat down and motioned for the others to do the same.  
  
"It started off as the most normal day you could imagine," she began. "Ptek had only broken three spanners and Lethra only had to heal two people who'd been attacked by the Whiskrats. It started getting wierd when Karok wanted to leave the village.."  
  
- ~ -  
  
**ADVERTISMENT**  
  
A rousing tale of adventure, drama and insanity starring Jak, Daxter, Keira and.. MANGO FETT! It's all you've ever wanted IN SPACE!!!!  
  
Jak and Daxter IN SPACE!!! (Part II coming soon!)  
  
(end of ad)  
  
Kyren: So yeah, read that. Well hasn't this been fun? It's taken almost a month to write this. But fortunately Necralis got her inspiration back. This is a transition chapter and it WILL get better.  
  
Shalashaska: Hey ah, where'd you get that thingy? (points at thingy)  
  
Kyren: I thought I said I swapped my teleportation power for it. It's a JET- board! I got a warehouse with ramps and stuff to do tricks on!  
  
Shalashaska: Oh.. good. Well, both Kyren and Necralis finished Jak II, no help, no cheats, NOTHING!! I did too.  
  
Kyren: Well I don't think Necralis will mind if I tell you the next chapter will be called 'Ask questions later' so ah, Shoot first, ask questions later. Get it? I hope so. 


	8. Ask Questions later

Necralis: Welcome... welcome one and all, to Chapter number 8. Hmm... this fic ain't exactly progressing all that fast, eh? Well, not to worry. We have a plot completely planned out... but I'm lazy and stupid things like school and life keep getting in the way. Come oooon, Dad! I'm not stupid enough to give my credit card number on the Internet!!  
  
Vader: (holding out a food bowl and moaning) braaaaains... braaaaaains...  
  
Necralis: You don't need brains, you worthless weasel.  
  
Vader: But I DO need-  
  
Necralis: Oh no, you don't. I looked it up. According to 'The Proper Care of Muses and the Like', Muses don't even need to eat.  
  
Vader: But we like to!  
  
Necralis: look, if you want more food, you'll have to inspire me some more. You've been almost completely useless for the last MONTH! Yes he has, and as a result, Kyren had to write the start of this chapter! (heh, so if you think it's absolutely terrible, blame it on her) So, unless you pick up your feet, I'm gonna have to get a NEW muse!  
  
Vader: NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!  
  
Necralis: YES!!! Oh, and have you seen Nibi?  
  
Vader: That freaky little Chibi mouser? No.  
  
Necralis: Hmm. I'll have to find her... Some mice ate my copy of Steel Magic. (snarls and waves a clump of tattered paper) This was a great book. AND NOW LOOK AT IT!! (starts to sob) And I can't remember who the author was, and it's REALLY old, so, may I ask, WHERE AM I GOING TO FIND ANOTHER FRIGGIN' COPY?!?  
  
Vader: you read too many books anyway.  
  
Necralis: Bah! It's no use tryna convince a muse that a book is good, cause most of the time they personally knew the author's muse... ANYWAYZ!!! I better let yas read. Please give reviews and/or cookies!  
  
**D** I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me... neither does Kyren. Geez, that was tough. Oh! And the whiskrats are a sort of long, thin, furry sharp-toothed creature. They're a bit like Cougars, only, well, not cats. The people of Nithana have tamed a few of them... used for tracking and hunting and protection. And that's pretty much all you need to know...  
  
- ~ -  
  
Chapter 8: Ask Questions Later  
  
'It started getting weird when Karok wanted to leave the village...  
  
"Ptek? Are you in here?" I called nervously as I entered his workshop, nearly tripping on Trax, who was nosing about in the junk inside. Yeah, yeah, I know, Ptek isn't exactly a man to be feared. But if anyone is foolish enough to enter his workshop while he's working on some big project...  
  
"Yeah! Oh, you'd better watch out for the stuff in the doorway, I think at least eight people have tripped on that today..."  
  
"Whoa, Ptek, you actually told me for once. Damn, I was looking forward to adding some more bruises to my collection," I said, trying to avoid cutting my foot open on the stuff that crowded not only the doorway, but also the entire room. "What are you making?"  
  
"Oh, ah... I don't exactly know... yet," he answered, biting his tongue. He was holding two objects, one appeared to be a piece of precursor metal attached to something that was zapping with electricity (or rather, blue eco in this world), and the other was holding some sort of... omni-tool he had created to make building his inventions easier.  
  
"Oh yeah, I came here to tell you that Karok is, ah, being weird," I reported sitting down on one of Ptek's...thingies.  
  
"What else is new?" He looked up at me. "Eiiagh, no, no, no, DON'T sit on that!" I leapt to my feet making an even weirder noise than Ptek had just made. Trax yapped loudly.  
  
"What? What is it?" I asked nervously. "Am I contaminated, doomed to die a slow and horrible death, cursed to live the rest of my life attached to you?!"  
  
"No, none of that, just lucky." He answered examining the previously sat on thingy.  
  
"What could've happened?"  
  
"Well, you could've broken it, and then I would've been forced to kill you."  
  
I sighed. "Anyway, Karok wants us to go out to the desert with him." That is pretty unusual in our village, there's lots of... things out there you don't wanna encounter, like the wild packs of whiskrats and sandstorms. And there is the searing heat, did I mention that? Most of the time, only the travelers go out there, and they spend months preparing.  
  
"What? Why?" he asked suspiciously, giving Trax a scratch between the ears.  
  
"A dream told him to."  
  
"Oh, jeez, not again. What did the last dream tell him to do? Wasn't it something like, prepare yourself for the worst to come? Then he went and got all our food and stored it somewhere, almost like he couldn't help it..." he suddenly looked thoughtful. "But, anyway, I don't think you should listen to him, he'll just get you lost," he warned, "Besides, it looks like it's gonna rain soon."  
  
I glanced out the workshop's window. Dark clouds amassed on the horizon and moved towards the village at an alarming rate.  
  
"Come on! Karok says he needs you, and you are bored, aren't you? Vester and Lethra are coming too."  
  
Ptek sighed and lay down his tool. "Fine. But you owe me!"  
  
_*_  
  
"Gah, my eyes!" cried Vester, "There's too much wind! Sand and eyes do not mix."  
  
"Yeah, I think we should go back, Karok!" I yelled, trying, in vain, to shield my eyes from the sand. Karok remained silent. After wrestling a few of the domesticated whiskrats off Ptek's, er... hyper-water flask (one of his inventions... don't ask) and receiving many (new!) painful bites, bruises and scratches we set off towards where Karok had pointed. I wandered over to Ptek, who was glancing around looking worried, to ask for some water. "I'm thirsty, can I have some water...Hey, ah, what is it, Ptek?"  
  
"Where's Lethra?" he asked.  
  
"What? She's gone? Oh no... Karok! Stop!" Karok turned.  
  
"What?" he asked impatiently.  
  
"Lethra's missing?" asked Vester who had been listening to us. I ignored everyone else's questions and ran back the way we came until I came to a moving lump of sand.  
  
"Ack! Help!" cried the lump. I started scooping up sand from it, revealing Lethra's sandy, spluttering body.  
  
"Eheh, eheh, ooooh... I fell over and the sand covered me!" she managed to cough out. "Bleh, I feel sick... thanks, Mir."  
  
Sandstorms can be really, really vicious around here – makes you wonder why they built the village so close to them. Karok had made us all rush out without getting any gear, not even the goggles we usually wear. I was starting to regret... oh, alright, I had been against it from the beginning. Why were we coming out here?  
  
I decided to ask Karok.  
  
"Gah! Stop the madness! We almost lost Lethra, and it could happen to anyone else. Karok, we should go back!"  
  
He didn't even turn around. Probably couldn't hear me over the wind, which had now reached howling pitch.  
  
"Just a little further!" he shouted, after I yelled at him a couple more times.  
  
"A little bit further to WHAT?!?" I yelled, then regretted it as my mouth filled up with sand. Karok pointed, but, surprise surprise, it was completely invisible.  
  
He yelled something else but it was lost in the wind. Just as I started wondering whether I would be fast enough to hit him over the head and escape before he caught on, the sandstorm stopped. Just like that. As though someone had flicked a switch.  
  
I glanced around at my friends. They were all in varying states of disbelief and nervousness. The silence pressed heavily on my ears.  
  
"Who hit the mute button?" said Ptek, breaking the eerie silence that had fallen.  
  
No one answered him, and as I glanced at the miraculously clear horizon, I noticed the clouds were closer than ever before. It may've been my imagination, but they looked purple.  
  
Karok suddenly knelt in the sand.  
  
"When the darkness falls..." he whispered. "When hope fades..."  
  
"Karok, what the hell are you babbling about?" Ptek demanded.  
  
Karok ran his fingers around a circle in the sand. Trax began to whimper.  
  
"They will gather..."  
  
"WHO will gather? Do you know something about this?"  
  
The circle in the sand began to glow.  
  
"To aid the Shiner..."  
  
The glow grew brighter.  
  
"Who.. What? What's a Shiner?"  
  
"To drive back the darkness..."  
  
The purple clouds were getting closer...  
  
"To decide the fate of this world and others."  
  
The circle in the sand suddenly exploded with blinding blue light that just as quickly vanished, leaving a round, dark hole in the sand. Karok staggered backwards, hand covering his eyes, which were streaming with tears from the light. He leapt to his feet and grabbed Lethra by the wrist.  
  
"In! Quick!" he gasped, hurling Lethra unceremoniously in the hole. He then dived in himself. Ptek, wondering whether Karok was actually seeing important stuff or just insane, followed. Trax streaked in after him.  
  
Vester and I glanced at each other. A faint feeling of foreboding pervaded me. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong...  
  
"May as well see, eh, Mirly?" he said, grinning. I shook my head and clambered down into the hole, Vester following.  
  
It was very cramped and dark. "Cozy," muttered Ptek. "Uh... Lethra... your elbow is jammed in my eye..."  
  
~In a desperate battle, a Hero was falling.  
  
- * -  
  
An odd click interrupted Mir's story, as with a loud pinging noise and a few sparks, the lights flickered back on.  
  
"Flibbing!" Ptek cried, dropping his spanner and putting the panel back over the wires. He turned around the see the others staring at him funny with raised eyebrows. "What?"  
  
Mir shook her head and turned back to the others when the light abruptly switched off again. Ptek bellowed something that sounded oddly like "Boogers!" which caused Jak to edge away from him and look to the others for explanation.  
  
Versca suddenly stood up and strode over to Mir, nearly falling over Trax. She shoved the dark-haired girl aside and settled herself in Mir's place, saying with a grin, "My turn to tell the story, sister. And I won't have any crazy embellishments, prophetic dreams and purple clouds, huh!"  
  
And, ignoring Mir's reproachful glances and Karok's vicious kick, she started to tell her side of the story, her style quite different from Mir's, occasionally glancing over the astronomer as though daring her to protest.  
  
- * -  
  
A thin, red-and-silver haired girl poked her head around a door and yelled "Necris! We're on in a second!"  
  
The girl sleeping on the bunk in the corner shrieked and fell off, having just been woken up from a rather nice sleep.  
  
"Fooled ya," grinned Versca, coming over and helping her up. "I wanna show you something."  
  
"Can't it wait?" moaned Necris, brushing her section of dark hair out of her mismatched, sleepy eyes.  
  
"Weeell... I SUPPOSE it could wait, seeing as you're feeling a little under the weather..."  
  
The acrobat growled and whacked her friend around the head.  
  
"You, Versca, are an insensitive, manipulative jerk."  
  
"I know," sighed the jerk in question, clasping her hands. "How can one not love me?"  
  
"Quite easily," growled Necris. "Where's Sierra?"  
  
"Practicing."  
  
"As per usual."  
  
"Doesn't want a fiasco like last time." Versca did an overblown imitation of someone falling on their butt. "Hasn't yet figured out that I put soap on her shoes."  
  
Necris raised an eyebrow. "So that explains it. She's usually a good dancer."  
  
"Such a pity that skill doesn't extend to her personality."  
  
"Pity that skill doesn't rub off."  
  
Versca flipped her the finger. Necris returned it with a flourish.  
  
"So, anyway, what is it you wanted to show me? Is it cool?"  
  
"It's freezing, my dear Necris. Absolutely freezing."  
  
Necris winced and sighed. "Not only are you insensitive, you are also insanely corny."  
  
- * -  
  
"How... much... farther?" panted Necris, as they clambered over the fourth tree that had been in their path.  
  
Versca glanced back at her friend, noting her shaking hands and sweating forehead. She had obviously not been stretching like they were always ordered to, and her slackness was taking its toll.  
  
Not that she'd ever been one for conformity. Her very outward appearance was a testament to that. Though her hair was currently dirty and messy, with twigs and leaves stuck in it for good measure, it was still easy to see that one half of it was long and dark, whilst the other was blonde and cut short. The same went for her eyes, one being a deep, clear shade of green, the other pale blue. They had been like that since her birth. The moment she'd found it that this particular aspect of her appearance was unusual, she'd done everything in her power to accentuate it, from wearing pied clothes to dying her hair.  
  
It was this weird urge of hers to be different from everyone else that had led her to run away and join the circus. Versca's story was not nearly so interesting – she'd been born in the circus, she lived in the circus and she would probably die in the circus too. Her parents had died when she was seven, leaving her to wander vaguely to look after herself. She'd found she'd had a pronounced aptitude - as well as an unhealthy fascination - with knifes of various sorts.  
  
"Not much further," she said to her suffering companion. "Just don't have a heart attack before we get there, eh, Grandma?"  
  
Necris gave her the finger. It was something of a tradition between these two, especially as Versca had a strange compulsion to insult everyone she knew. In all appearances, the pair wouldn't have made a very good pair of friends – except for one crucial aspect.  
  
Necris had once saved Versca's life.  
  
It was a long story – it had to do with water, seaweed and sharks (N&V: We'll save it for another fic, shaaall we?) – but the practical upshot was the pair never went anywhere without the other.  
  
Versca was thinking and pushing branches out of the way with her hands on automatic when she heard a loud screech and a flurry of breaking branches nearby. She would have started towards the sound had someone not crashed through the trees next to her and landed flat on her back next to her foot. Versca leant over her to see if she was all right, then suddenly straightened up and started smirking.  
  
"Why, hello there, my dear Sierra."  
  
The newcomer was thin and female, dressed in a white shirt with longish purple pants. She was tanned and orange-haired, with a face that may have been beautiful had it not been covered in scratches and twisted in an angry snarl. Her usually neat hair and clothing was now ragged, with twigs and various assorted parts of the scenery ensnared in them.  
  
"I swear I'll kill you, Versca," she growled, struggling to get up and restore some of her dignity. "You knew I was following you. You KNEW!"  
  
Necris said, "With you stumbling along like an elephant? How could we NOT know?"  
  
Not many people like Sierra, partly because she disliked them and partly because she treated them like the lowest kind of filth. She was in fact the daughter of a well-known dancer, but while the skill had been passed down, her mother's kindness had not. She now made her living doing graceful and elaborate dances to amaze crowds, between which she screeched at even the ringmaster and demanded all the best of everything (which she often got, thanks to her stunning beauty and prowess at blackmail).  
  
Now, her tanned face flushed with fury, she got to her feet and screeched, "HOW DARE YOU TREAT ME LIKE THIS!"  
  
Versca patted her on the head because she knew the girl would hate it, and said soothingly, "Calm down, Sierra, there's no need to bust my eardrums, you know. Now get of my way, I'm trying to keep an appointment I made with Ms Necris here."  
  
Sierra's voice rose higher, to the point where Versca winced and covered her ears. "I AM THE DAUGHTER OF MAHALIA! I do not appreciate being dragged on an obstacle course-"  
  
"We didn't WANT you to follow us! You just decided it would be a good idea to eavesdrop!" Necris does not like sticky-beaks.  
  
"It was a good thing I did!" Sierra rounded on Versca. "I should have known you were behind my fall, you jealous, lazy, ignorant peon..."  
  
She followed them all the way, whining and complaining and generally being a pain in the butt (apologies Kiz, do you mind your character being such a bitch?). Versca was on the point of strangling her when the trees they'd been climbing through suddenly stopped and they walked into a clearing.  
  
A rather impressive jumble of bronze metal and stone rose before them, its rounded towers and pinnacles seemingly etched against the blue of the sky. Numerous indecipherable symbols crawled over the metal, telling stories of ages past... or maybe just saying 'push' or 'pull'. All three girls started making 'oooh' noises.  
  
"Precursor ruins?" Necris panted, "Well, they are pretty cool, but not worth dragging me out of bed for."  
  
Versca waved her arms around at this insult. "There's some cool stuff inside, you know."  
  
"I've seen ruins so big that you could break your neck trying to see the top," Sierra lied grandly. The other two looked around at her and said, "shut up" in perfect unison.  
  
"Well," muttered Versca, smiling and rubbing her hands. "Shall we go in?"  
  
Necris glanced straight upwards, then to the south. "I don't know, Versca... it looks like it's going to rain."  
  
"Versca cares not for rain!"  
  
"I do," muttered Sierra, pouting.  
  
"Yes, but we don't care what you think." Necris glanced at the sky again, then grinned. Sierra's reluctance seemed to solidify her resolve. "Ahh, why the hell not."  
  
They found the door – it was large and round, opening with a high-pitched whirr. The inside of the temple (or whatever it was) was not very different from the outside, except for the occasional humming Blue Eco vent in the floor. The Vents made the only sound, apart from the rustling of clothes and the deep, echoing sound of footsteps on Precursor Metal.  
  
"Pretty," said Necris, tapping a glowing blue panel in the wall. "You be quiet," she added, as Sierra opened her mouth. Sierra looked offended. Versca was murmuring under her breath.  
  
"Left... three doors... funny blobby thing... Here!" she suddenly stopped and squinted at one particularly non-descript door. "I think this is the one." She swiped her hand across a panel in the wall and the door hummed slightly then opened.  
  
"WOOOOH!" she shrieked, racing into the chamber beyond and clambering onto a machine that resided within.  
  
"Are you sure that's what it's meant to be used for?" frowned Necris.  
  
"No," said Versca, now hanging upside down from her knees. "Do I care?"  
  
Sierra looked oddly at the...thing...which was very large and looked insanely complicated. It may have once been used as a clock... or a torture device... it was hard to tell with Precursor technology.  
  
Versca was obviously not interested in the secrets of the Precursors, and continued to swing happily on one of the protruding bits, yelling in a most juvenile manner.  
  
"Is this what you wanted to show me?" asked Necris, staring at her friend disgustedly.  
  
"Is it not cool? We can come here whenever we like and use it to practice on! And I'm the only one who knows how to get in here-" she looked absurdly proud of this – "So toffee here won't be able to follow us."  
  
Sierra gave her the finger, a most unusual display of vulgarity for her, and looked ready to throw another tantrum. Versca was hanging upside down again, face turning red as all the blood rushed to her head, while Necris was examining the symbols with interest, wondering whether or not they would be easier to read upside down.  
  
And this would probably have continued for quite a while, had the door not chosen that moment to start closing.  
  
What happened was that the blue glow-panels stopped their steady pulsing and started to flash, accompanied by a rather weird klaxon noise. The door, which had been open the whole time, started to close... and there was no way to open it from the inside.  
  
"CRAAP!" Versca dropped heavily to the floor and felt pain flare in her ankles. Necris and Sierra both started scrambling for the door, clawing and scratching desperately at each other, selfish in their terror. Necris yelled as Sierra tore out a few strands of her hair, then gave her a sharp prod in the stomach, causing the dancer to squeak and allow her to get free.  
  
The acrobat was the first to dive through the opening, but jut as Versca was stumbling up to the door, Sierra gave her a vicious kick in the stomach. Versca grunted and flew backwards, skidding along the floor for a few metres then coming to a stop. Just long enough for Sierra to leap through the door as it slammed shut with a final, echoing 'clang!'.  
  
She was trapped.  
  
- ~ -  
  
Kyren: Hello, peoples! I've been listening to WipEout music for about two weeks and I'm still not sick of it! It's so cool... if you have WipEout (1, 2097 and Wip3out, whatever, they're all good) you should probably agree with me. I WANT WIPEOUT FUSION!!! *twitches* Hmm... I stopped writing that when Lethra says, "Bleh, I feel sick... thanks, Mir," and then started writing again after Versca's bit. Necralis wrote the rest. If you don't already know my deviantART account... www.getahaircut.deviantart.com it be... there's a picture of Mir and Lethra and a badly drawn me (Kyren)! with Shalashaska and one of his beloved cupcakes...  
  
Shalashaska: Oh,yes, I believe that would be my cue for... mmm... cupcakes...  
  
Kyren: Oh, and just in case you need this, How to pronounce various OC's names:  
  
~Mir: Erm, you can pronounce this either rhyming with fur or like the name Mia (Mee-a)... but I use the fur one...~  
  
~Ptek: The P is silent so it's just pronounced 'Tek', I don't want anyone saying P-tek!~  
  
~Ylaster the Mighty: The Y is pronounced like 'e' so it's Ee-last-er. Ala Ylon and Ylander and the Ysandir and Ysanne Isard. Yes – I am a total nerd and damn well proud of it.~  
  
~Miala: From my sisters fic, When I Grow Up (go read that by the way), it's pronounced Me-ar-la, not Mayla. If it was spelt Maila it would be pronounced Mayla.(remember that for Sierra as well, See-air-ra((Kiz's cameo's name!)), alright?) ~  
  
~Necralis: Ne-crar-lis, emphasis on the 'crar' not Ne-cra-lis~  
  
~Necris: Neecris...~  
  
~Jak: be-longs-to-Ky-ren... Only joking. ^^;~  
  
Kyren: And that's all I can think of now, but if you want to know how to pronounce stoof, you know who to call! But you don't REALLY have to pronounce stuff like that if you don't want to. Just no one say P-tek, ok?! So, look out for the next chapter... and don't forget to V&V (erm... View & Voo). CHEEEEEEEEEZ! 


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